This metal sign once hung on the front of 2263 Mount View Place, SE in Washington, DC’s Anacostia neighborhood. A white border frames matching lettering on a rectangular sign that announces, “SOUTHEAST NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE PROGRAM CENTER.” Founded in 1929 by physician and public health activist Dorothy Boulding Ferebee (1898-1980), the community center provided services for working class African American families, including childcare and recreational opportunities for youth. Originally called Southeast Settlement House and located in Capitol Hill, the nonprofit followed residents displaced by urban renewal campaigns to Anacostia in 1942, revising its name to Southeast Neighborhood House (SNH). It evolved into a hub for grassroots community organizing, expanding its offerings along with its buildings; the Program Center was among five along Mount View and Maple View Place.
In the 1960s, SNH rose to national prominence as an epicenter for urban activism during the War on Poverty. Its leadership training transformed residents into advocates. The youth-led “Rebels with a Cause” and welfare rights-focused women of “Band of Angels,” not only catalyzed local change, but set national reform agendas. Long-time staff members John Kinard and Zora B. Martin became the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum’s first director and director of education, respectively, in 1967.
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Cite As:
Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.