The papers of community organizer and affordable housing developer Marie Satenik Nahikian measure 3.46 linear feet and date from 1971 to 1998. The collection contains correspondence; certificates; photographs; newsletters; campaign ephemera; editions of various Washington, DC community newspapers; as well as recordings of Nahikian's speeches. The bulk of the collection contains documents pertaining to Nahikian's work with the Adams Morgan Organization.
The papers of community organizer and affordable housing developer Marie Satenik Nahikian measure 3.46 linear feet and date from 1971 to 1998. The collection includes copies of the Rock Creek Monitor, the newspaper of Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan and Mt. Pleasant communities of Washington, DC. Present in the collection are also proclamations, newspaper clippings, writings by Nahikian and materials related to her role for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for ANC-1C (in Adams Morgan) and unsuccessful campaign for D.C. City Council.
Biographical / Historical:
Marie Satenik Nahikian was a co-founder and the first Executive Director of the Adams
Morgan Organization (AMO, founded in 1972). Before Washington, DC had Home Rule,
AMO put into practice a local, elected self-governance structure that advocated for
issues of concern to residents of the Adams Morgan neighborhood. AMO served as the
main model for the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that were created when Home
Rule was implemented in Washington, DC. Marie S. Nahikian, particularly through her
work with AMO, was a staunch advocate and partial architect of three landmark pieces
of tenant rights and anti-displacement legislation in DC: the 1975 Rental
Accommodations Act, the 1978 Residential Real Property Transfer Excise Tax, and the
1980 Rental Housing Conversion and Sale Act.
Nahikian was elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for ANC-1C (in Adams
Morgan) and twice ran for D.C.City Council (unsuccessfully). She was appointed by
Mayor Walter Washington (1915-2003) to serve two terms as a Tenant Commissioner
on the D.C. Rental Accommodations Commission. She later served under Mayor
Marion Barry (1936-2014) as head of the Tenant Purchase Program that enabled
largely low- and moderate-income tenants to purchase and become cooperative owners
of their buildings.
After leaving Washington, DC, she went on to work for Mayors in Philadelphia and New
York City. Nahikian also worked in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development under President Barack Obama.
In 2023, Marie Satenik Nahikian hosts the Usable Past podcast, where activists share
their stories of past and present organizing to create better lives for as many people as
possible.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
The Marie Satenik Nahikian papers are the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
