The Black Broad Branch Project is a public history project co-founded in 2022 by Mariana Barros-Titus and Corey Shaw, Jr. It explores the development of Washington, DC through the lens of the forcible dislocation of a longstanding, thriving community of Black landowners in what is current-day Chevy Chase. The DC History Center has served as project’s incubator since 2023.
The Project
The guiding principle behind the Black Broad Branch Project is that meaningful repair requires those harmed by past actions get to define what redress should look like in practice. Oral histories collected from descendants of the Pointer-Harris and Dorsey-Shorter families explore the generational implications of being forced off their land. Those oral histories offer descendants an opportunity to articulate what meaningful redress looks like to them. These definitions were then worked into an action plan based on the International Human Rights Framework for Reparations: the ACE Model for Reparations (ACE = Acknowledgement, Compensation, Education).
Using public history tools such as public presentations, neighborhood-based exhibits, and accessible archives, the project now focuses on increasing public understanding of how the historical use of eminent domain, racially restrictive covenants, and extra-legal segregation practices shaped the city of Washington, DC.
The Origins
The Black Broad Branch Project grew out of a special class offered at the University of the District of Columbia in Spring and Summer 2021. The course, Black Land Loss: Memories of the Past, Hopes for the Future, was designed in partnership with Historic Chevy Chase DC and funded by HumanitiesDC.
After applying to participate, students were trained in oral history methods and conducted research to map the history of forced dislocation of Black communities in DC. This research was informed in large part by the work of Barbara Boyle Torrey and Clara Myrick Green, co-authors of Between Freedom and Equality: The History of an African American Family in Washington, DC. The project continues to collaborate with Historic Chevy Chase DC and other neighborhood-based organizations on ad hoc initiatives that aim to increase public understanding of this history.
The DC History Center now serves as the project’s incubator and archival partner. Oral history transcripts are now available via our Kiplinger Research Library collections.
Teaching Black Broad Branch
Developed in partnership with the Georgetown University’s Education, Discovery, Inquiry, and Justice Program, these curriculum materials support the 3rd, 6th, & 12th Grade Social Studies Curriculum: Reparations in DC and Beyond.
Oral Histories
Conducted by students from the University of the District of Columbia, these original oral histories document eight descendant-narrators’ lived experiences. Transcripts of these oral histories are available through our Digital Assets Management System, ResourceSpace.
Related Reading
TORREY, BARBARA BOYLE, and CLARA MYRICK GREEN. “Free Black People of Washington County, D.C. George Pointer and His Descendants.” Washington History 28, no. 1 (2016): 16–31.
Between Freedom and Equality: The History of an African American Family in Washington, DC by Barbara Boyle Torrey and Clara Myrick Green
This ArcGIS storymap uses Black Broad Branch oral history transcripts to present the life histories of descendant narrators and demonstrate how land loss affected them individually.