Third times the charm in time for Black History Month. I will be presenting a talk about Eloyce Gist at the National Archives in College Park at 1PM on Thursday the 26th. If you just want to see it remotely, contact the NAA Assembly Board (email is on the flyer) for a Google invite.
The first 2 attempts were cancelled due to the government shutdown. This lecture is a bit different than the others I’ve given regarding Mrs. Gist as it is directed a little bit towards archivists.
This is a repost of an earlier post for Martin Luther King Day.
I have been looking for a speech I had of Martin Luther King’s made on March 13, 1967 for Model Inner City Community Organization (MICCO). Because the King Center is famous for cracking down on what they believe to be their copyright, I did not post the whole speech.
Back in 2008, I posted portions of the speech. I’ll repost it here.
Of course, we all recognize that if we are ultimately to improve psychological and physical conditions for minorities there must be total elimination of ghettoes and the establishment of a truly integrated society. In the meantime, however, all those working for economic and social justice are forced to address themselves to interim programs which, while not totally changing the situation, will nevertheless bring about improvement in the lives of those forced to live in ghettoes. And so, whiel [sic] many of those steps may lead to limited integration, those which do not must clearly be seen as interim steps until the objective situation makes a more fundamental approach.
and later
… Labor, Housing and the Office of Economic Opportunity, ought to work with the people of Shaw in developing, coordinating and concentrating their various programs upon social and economic problems of this area.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at a March 13, 1967 rally for Shaw
Dr. King has become an avatar, where people have projected on their own visions of what he’s supposed to be and ignoring who he actually was. Maybe some organization’s crackdown on other’s printing his words played a part in that. Dr. King preached integration but it seems so many now are pushing for segregation and celebrating the ghetto that King wanted to eliminate.
At some point between now and 1/1/2026 I will change the look of this website and Inshaw.com. This may mean it might go through a couple of looks before I settle on one. You’ve been warned.
I know I need to update Truxtoncircle.org, which is also in the Inshaw family of websites. Maybe 2027 for that.
Whelp.
The Federal Government closed today due to the shutdown. So the National Archives Assembly who was hosting the event, has rescheduled it to November 6th….. even if the US government miraculously opens tomorrow morning.
If you emailed the NAA for an invite link, then you should have gotten an email about the new date.
So just to recap it, October 2nd is off and the new date is November 6th.
The National Archives Assembly, an organization of current and former NARA employees, is sponsoring this presentation on 10/2/25 at 1pm as part of their monthly meeting. Come in person or just view online (Google Meet) a presentation about former Truxton Circle resident, Eloyce Gist. She was a filmmaker in the early 1930s.
NAA Presentation-Eloyce Gist (PDF)
Many thanks to Scott Roberts who pointed out an error that has been corrected.
So I’m thinking about retirement. From the thing that pays me, not this. However, the thing that pays me supports the work I do here. It pays for the web hosting, the domains, and a bunch of other stuff.
One of those is a Pro Flickr account, where I have a slew of photographs hosted on the site. I haven’t used Flickr that much to host new photos since 2022. And though $75 a year isn’t that much, I need to start making this hobby cheaper.
I have downloaded my photos, but I need to start deleting some of the photos from the site. I think the limit is 1,000 and I have somewhere above 3,000.
Starting now I will begin mass deleting photos.
Okay. One little break from the Washington Sanitary Improvement Co houses for Christmas. Merry Christmas/ Happy Festivus to my 3 readers.
Usually I recognize Black History Month by looking at the father of Negro History Week ( which became Black History Month), Dr. Carter G. Woodson and his most famous book The Mis-Education of the Negro.
Nope.
I’m not doing that.
Instead I will do some Truxton Circle based Black History and look at a very interesting book, First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America’s First Black Public High School by Dunbar alumna Alison Stewart. I first listened to the audio-book and was so blown away, I bought the dead tree version.
So that’s what’s in store for February 2024.
That and more of the 1700 block of New Jersey Ave NW.
In March I’ll get back to WSIC houses.
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I will post a few words from a speech he gave while visiting the Shaw neighborhood back in 1967.
Of course, we all recognize that if we are ultimately to improve psychological and physical conditions for minorities there must be total elimination of ghettoes and the establishment of a truly integrated society. In the meantime, however, all those working for economic and social justice are forced to address themselves to interim programs which, while not totally changing the situation, will nevertheless bring about improvement in the lives of those forced to live in ghettoes. And so, whiel [sic] many of those steps may lead to limited integration, those which do not must clearly be seen as interim steps until the objective situation makes a more fundamental approach.
and later
… Labor, Housing and the Office of Economic Opportunity, ought to work with the people of Shaw in developing, coordinating and concentrating their various programs upon social and economic problems of this area.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at a March 13, 1967 rally for Shaw
I hope that reading this one can see the importance of integration. Segregating off into little ethnic and racial neighborhoods separate from other residents is not good for us as a whole. We need to unite and work together for the good.
