Black Businesses of 1968 Shaw: Personality Studio and Gift Shop

Another item from the “pile”, this is another post 1968 riot for a Shaw business. Carl R. Webb owned Personality Studio and Gift Shop at 1618 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, in Shaw. Currently that same location is for some medical supply store.
The store experienced extensive glass damage and theft. It appears the owner Mr. Webb, an African American man, decided to remain after the riot but was planning on changing his shop into a Ben Franklin store, a kind of five and dime.

1618 7thSt NW by Mm Inshaw on Scribd

Random Asian owned business in 1968 Shaw

Pulling another document from the “pile”.

This is a post 1968 riot survey filed by Shaw Foo Chin, owner of Bill’s Laundry and Dry Cleaning at 1718 14th Street NW. I have no clue who Bill is. Currently there is a Peregrine Espresso coffee shop there.

Mr. Chin seemed to be okay. Rioters smashed his sign and stole his customers’ dry cleaning. Mr. Chin reported that he conducted his own repairs.

1718 14th ST NW by Mm Inshaw on Scribd

The End Is Near

Coming SoonCan I blame the kid on this one?

Indirectly yes, but I saw a sign that our moving would be inevitable. And that sign was our neighbor’s “For Sale” sign. Our beloved neighbors of over a decade are moving a few blocks over for more square footage. It wasn’t a nail in the coffin, but it is one of many things, many signs that point to our eventual move.

When? I’m guessing 2 to 6 years. It really depends on who replaces our neighbors and if my work relocates to the suburban campus.

That last part really annoys me. I remember Eleanor Holmes Norton saying she helped author some rule saying a percentage of federal jobs were supposed to stay in the District. For as long as I’ve been with my agency, most of the opportunities were out in the burbs.  Since having a kid, I’m making more of an effort to go up one more GS level, and that means going out to the burbs.

Another thing, and I may explore this a bit more, I’d like to live a more Black middle class life. It was at my cousin’s wedding reception in upper PG maybe Howard Co., MD, with two beautiful words, “open bar.” Anyway, surrounded by other Black mostly educated professionals and retired professionals, I thought, this is nice. Problem, I really don’t get that living in Shaw. I do like living and being in integrated spaces. But now with my son, I’ve become extra sensitive to what impression the people in the neighborhood present. He sees the old guys on the corner, the homeless guys shuffling through and horseplaying juveniles more often than he sees the black church elders & deacons, and his retired (but very busy/active) relatives.

Shaw is diverse but the diversity is uneven. There just aren’t enough Black middle class families here. So when we talk about black white differences, it’s white rich/ black poor. It might be a different story in other neighborhoods with thicker pockets of the AfAm middle class.

In the meantime, I’m just loving the city. I’m loving the occasional peeks of the Capitol dome and the Washington Monument on my daily commute. I’m loving the fact that there is an awesome restaurant 2 blocks from my house and that most of what I need is within a 15 minute walk. Despite my complaints about 311 and various city services, I’m loving that there are apps and websites and a whole community of people here working towards making city government less sucky. Most of all, I’m loving the universal Pre-K, the one thing keeping me from going, “Let me put in a transfer to Burbsville and put the house on the market this Spring.”

Random 1968 Shaw Business: Quality Dress Shop

I’m just throwing this out there because I’m trying to clean up my files. This is for Quality Dress Shop at 1600 7th St NW. It was a white owned business, so it won’t go into the Black businesses of Shaw category. I can’t tell if the owners name is Hyman Peplo or Nyman Perlo.

This is a post 1968 riot survey. Apparently the riot put the dress shop out of business. Fifteen employees (11 white/ 4 black) lost their jobs. I can’t read the whole statement, but it seems the owner decided the area was too dangerous.

328 a1 14 BusIII7thSt by Mm Inshaw on Scribd

Help police find hate crime “person of interest”

As reported in the Washington Blade three gay men were horribly beaten on the 1400 block of P Street NW on Halloween. Police would like to find the person seen in the footage below. This person has not a been described as a suspect, and even if they were, “innocent until proven guilty” and all that jazz.

No one else is going to say it, so I’m going to say it. With so many attacks on white gay men by black persons (mostly men), it seems the city is saying it’s open season on white (and passing as white) gay men. When you read about a hate crime happening in DC there is some fantasy that it’s being carried out by Bloomingdale nazis or white guys in MAGA hats, because whoever is reporting it won’t dare mention the race of the perpetrators who kicked and beat the victims.

It is open season on white gay men because you and I know even if the suspects were charged with the crime, the number of hate crime convictions is measly compared to arrests…. if those arrests actually are made. And the reason for that is the standard in a court of law is higher than the standard needed for arrests…. the few arrests that actually get made.

So to my white gay neighbors, of which there are several, be safe out there. You are in charge of your safety.

Edited 8/25/22- Video removed because it was taken off YouTube

1957 Church Survey: 3 Churches

The 1957 Church Survey of Northwest Urban Renewal Churches typically provides a lot of information. Sometimes it tells what the class and racial makeup of the church was in that period of time. And sometimes it is just bare bone location and public record info. Instead of having 3 separate posts for churches with bare bone info, I’m throwing them into one post.

Verbycke Spiritual Church

This church was at 1009 8th St NW, which no longer exists. A convention center sits on it now. Prior to the spiritualists getting to it, it was the Syrian Catholic Church.

CS 46 Verbycke Spiritual Ch… by Mm Inshaw on Scribd

People’s Seventh Day Baptist

Very confusing name. Easily confused with the Seventh Day Adventists. People’s Seventh Day Baptist was located at 2105 10th St NW. Supposedly there are supposed to be some condos there. But looking at a 2018 Google Street view of the place, there is an empty church and an empty lot.

CS 50 Peoples Seventh Day B… by Mm Inshaw on Scribd

Walker Memorial Baptist

Walker Memorial Baptist is located at 2018 13th Street NW.

CS 51 Walker Memorial Baptist by Mm Inshaw on Scribd

1957 Church Survey: Berean Baptist Church

I don’t know if the “Historic” Berean Baptist Church off Rhode Island Avenue NE in a building that looks like a bank, circa 1987, is in anyway related to this Berean Baptist Church, formerly at 2033 11th St NW. More than likely it’s the plain old Berean Baptist Church on Madison St. NW. The current residents are a different denomination, Christian Tabernacle Church of God. Reading their history the Church of God people got there maybe in 1974?

Anyway, the church in 1957 was black and the two current Berean Baptists are also black churches. A majority of the parishioners were professionals (34%), followed by white collar workers (26%), and then the next highest group were retirees (18%).  So I’m going to say this was a black middle class church.

CS 47 Berean Baptist by Mm Inshaw on Scribd