U Street's history will be the topic of discussion shared by Blair Ruble, author of Washington's U Street: A Biography and veteran jazz broadcaster Rusty Hassan at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, February 16th at 1 p.m. Blair Ruble is director of the Kennan Institute and the Comparative Urban Studies programs at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Rusty Hassan is a jazz journalist known for his knowledgeable radio interviews. While the history of Washington is often seen from Pennsylvania Avenue it is also linked to U Street. Ruble has managed to frame this neighborhood's story against the larger narrative of the city's people and culture.
The ten block corridor has long been the center of Washington's music scene, with the Lincoln Theatre, Howard Theatre, Bohemian Caverns, and other clubs and historic jazz spots while remaining to this day a popular music venue. The night life with its crowded promenades, bright lights and glitter came alive in the early part of the 20th Century. Diminished and all but faded during the latter half, it is now a credentialed historic community undergoing a renaissance. Blair's titled biography connotes a living story like life itself caught up in a boom and bust cycle.
Predominately white and middle class until the turn of the 20th century as the city became increasingly segregated with restrictive covenants in housing U Street became a city within a city and the most important concentration of businesses, entertainment facilities and fraternal and religious institutions. U Street represented a major residential, cultural and business center for African Americans, still occupied with the a dozen notable landmarks among which include Prince Hall Masonic Temple, the home of the first African American Masonic Order in the South.
Though the percentage of residents who are black peaked in 1970s, the area today is largely seen as a mixture of blacks, whites and latinos. It's experiencing social and economic gentrification and still figures prominently in the city's social and cultural life. Blair Ruble has chosen a subject worthy of scholarly study in urban affairs as understanding the city's past will provide enlightenment for its future. This study places Washington DC's historical significance on the plane of other similar world renowned capitals.
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