The first of a three-part series of webinars by Historic Chevy Chase DC to explore our history century by century starts this Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. "Chevy Chase DC at 250: Beyond the Burgers and Fireworks," is a thoughtful discussion of what we as a community can do to redeem the promise of our nation's founding documents.
Register for the free, 75-minute webinar here.
Chevy Chase DC has the unique opportunity to witness much of this history due to our geographic proximity to the seat of the world's longest-surviving democracy. History tells us that the citizens who shaped Chevy Chase DC literally crossed paths with the founders as colleagues, nation builders, and also as enslaved laborers. In fact, we can trace the stories of residents whose DNA tied them to people once enslaved by George Washington.
The Jan. 29 Webinar will reflect on the first 100 years of America, from the early 1700s to the early 1800s, when the land that would become Chevy Chase DC was doled out by the Crown for tobacco production. We will view this period through the eyes of people like George Pointer, born enslaved and rented out at age 13 to work on Washington's Potomac Canal project. By the mid 1850s his descendants had become landowning farmers on Broad Branch Road. Or people like Caroline Branham, a woman who was enslaved at Mount Vernon and whose descendants served at Arlington House until eventually becoming free landowners along Broad Branch Road.
The Webinar will feature presenters Jocelind Julien, a descendant of enslaved persons at Mount Vernon and later landowners on Broad Branch Road; historical anthropologist Mark Auslander, who will share research on the role of African Americans on both sides of the Revolution, including George Pointer; and Carl Lankowski, PhD International Relations, who will introduce the panel discussion.
The last two installments, scheduled for Mach and June, will draw attention to the re-founding of our republic and its betrayal as we examine the role of Chevy Chase DC in the Civil War, Reconstruction, suburban expansion under Jim Crow, and displacement of locals who did not fit into the racially exclusive community envisioned by its founder, Francis Newlands.
Cate Atkinson
Historic Chevy Chase DC board member
