Operation Understanding DC

Last Sunday, our group of Operation Understanding DC fellows convened on zoom to advance our goal of familiarizing ourselves with the experience and relationship of Black and Jewish Americans. First, we were presented with the extraordinary opportunity to collectively hear from and interview Mr. Anderson Flen, community advocate for Africatown, Alabama. Each fellow had previously taken time to watch the Netflix documentary Descendant, which covers the story of the community, known as Africatown, built by passengers of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to reach American shores.

We were inspired by Africatown residents’ unique resilience and disappointed to hear how local governments have devalued their community and imposed industry on the area with unhealthy proximity to its residents. We discussed the recurring pattern of segregation leading to underserved Black communities, and Mr. Flen was careful to point out that people complicit in this system are as guilty as those who perpetrated this injustice. Mr. Flen, who moved us with his commitment to serving the community of Africatown, encouraged each member of our group to “find your passion, and hopefully that will include helping make a difference in your environment.” His advice tied in coherently with our previous discussions regarding ways we can each channel our personal talents into activism.

Our Social Justice Fellows recently met with Professor LaNitra Berger, the Director of African and African American Studies at George Mason University to talk about the relationship between Jewish and African-American Communities. Social Justice Fellow Athena Goines created artwork to represent the lesson she has taken away from the OUDC program, as she explains,
"When it comes to social justice and advocacy, the most important factor is listening. Listening to those in need. Opening your mindset to understand their problem, and then take action. This is why I decided to paint an ear because, during the discussion we had on March 19th, I felt as though my mind opened up more. I really enjoyed listening to our guest speaker, Ms. LaNitra Berger, and I felt like I learned a lot about the importance of advocacy."

After our tour of the Cemetery we then journeyed to Busboys and Poets in Brookland, where we enjoyed burgers, fries and a discussion with Mr. Marcus Sankofa Nicks, who is the curator of the newly reopened Howard County Center of African American Culture in Columbia, Maryland. Guided by his expertise, we explored the nuances of American racism; for example, we examined caricatured Black characters off of which white people profited, such as Aunt Jemimah. A former teacher of African American history, Mr. Nicks stressed the importance of teaching kids about the victories and achievements of African American individuals as well as the oppression they collectively face. We were grateful for the opportunity to uncover the history of Washington D.C. Our eyes were opened to how our city’s local governments have underserved the African American population and the fight that is being fought to preserve African American history in D.C.

OUDC’s Spring 2023 program is well underway, and we want you to hear from some of the Social Justice Fellows about our most recent in-person event. Shalvah Lazarus and Nathan Szubin wrote the following about last Sunday’s two-part program.

This past Sunday, we began our journey at the Mt. Zion Female Union Band cemetery
near Georgetown. We were met by Mr. Corey Shaw, a D.C. native, who gave us an incredibly informative tour of the historically African American cemetery and its rich backstory. We learned that despite this cemetery’s historical significance and status as part of a National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage site, it has been neglected and unpreserved. Many of the headstones have been stolen or moved into unsightly piles, meaning the majority of graves are unmarked. A member of our group realized that he runs frequently over a trail beside Mt. Zion cemetery, previously unaware of the disrespected graves that lay there. Additionally, the cemetery was littered with trash, including a moldy orange on the oldest gravestone in the cemetery, a monument to children who had died in the early 19th century. As if to expose the negligence with which the cemetery was treated, a second cemetery stands looking over Mt. Zion. Dedicated by President Andrew Johnson to commemorate Confederate history, its well-manicured terracing and monuments harshly contrast Mt. Zion’s persisting erosion and array of strewn gravestones. Mr. Shaw also told us the story of George Pointer, whose remarkable story begins with bo***ge and ends with irreplaceable contributions to our city’s infrastructure. In Chevy Chase D.C, Lafayette-Pointer Park stands as a reminder of both his family’s success story and the immense wrongdoing for which the federal government is responsible, for an entire community of Black Washingtonians was displaced in order to build a school and park for White residents. We were appalled to realize that a park where one of us has enjoyed many Sundays has such a past.