Before John and Jackie lent a touch of Camelot to the famous red-bricked rows and even before the founding of the nations capital, Georgetown was an influential port city. Men such as the charismatic Scot Ninian Beall came to the Potomac shores to capitalize on the riches of the New World. Beaver pelts, great hogsheads of tobacco, and slaves all crossed the wharves of George Town. Through a series of vignettes, Missy Loewe and David Mould chronicle the fascinating history of the nations oldest neighborhood. Discover the lost port city from the days of the Revolution and the terror of the War of 1812 to the founding of Georgetown University and the towns incorporation in the District of Columbia.

Black Georgetown Remembered is a compelling journey through more than two hundred years of history. A one-of-a-kind book, it invites readers to consider how the unique heritage of this neighborhood intersects and contributes to broader themes in African American and Washington, DC, history and urban studies.

A powerful remembrance of the lessons and legacy of Jan Karski, who risked his life to share the truth with the world--and a cautionary tale for our times. Richly illustrated with stills from the black-and-white film adaptation of the acclaimed stage play, Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski tells the story of World War II hero, Holocaust witness, and Georgetown University professor Jan Karski. A messenger of truth, Karski risked his life to carry his harrowing reports of the Holocaust from war-torn Poland to the Allied nations and, ultimately, the Oval Office, only to be ignored and disbelieved. Despite the West’s unwillingness to act, Karski continued to tell others about the atrocities he saw, and, after a period of silence, would do so for the remainder of his life. This play carries forward his legacy of bearing witness so that future generations might be inspired to follow his example and “shake the conscience of the world.” Accompanying the text of the stage play in this volume are essays and conversations from leading diplomats, thinkers, artists, and writers who reckon with Karski’s legacy, including Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, award-winning author Aminatta Forna, best-selling author Azar Nafisi, President Emeritus of Georgetown Leo J. O’Donovan, SJ, Ambassador Samantha Power, Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider, historian Timothy Snyder, Academy AwardTM nominated actor David Strathairn, and best-selling author Deborah Tannen.

These essays, articles, and documents introduce readers to the history of Georgetown University’s involvement in slavery and recent efforts to confront its troubling past. It traces Georgetown’s “Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation Initiative” and the role of universities–uniquely situated to conduct that reckoning through research, teaching, and modeling thoughtful discussion–in this movement.

Georgetown's little-known black heritage shaped a Washington, DC, community long associated with white power and privilege. Black Georgetown Remembered reveals a rich but little-known history of the Georgetown Black community from the colonial period to the present. Drawing on primary sources, including oral interviews with past and current residents and extensive research in church and historical society archives, the authors record the hopes, dreams, disappointments, and successes of a vibrant neighborhood as it persevered through slavery and segregation, war and peace, prosperity and depression. This thirtieth anniversary edition of Black Georgetown Remembered, first published in 1991, features more than two hundred illustrations, including portraits of prominent community leaders, sketches, maps, and nineteenth-century and contemporary photographs. A new chapter includes recent interviews with current Georgetown residents reflecting on the Black community, past and present. Black Georgetown Remembered is a compelling and inspiring journey through more than two hundred years of history. A one-of-a-kind book, it invites readers to share in the lives, dreams, aspirations, struggles, and triumphs of real people, to join them in their churches, at home, and on the street, and to consider how the unique heritage of this neighborhood intersects and contributes to broader themes in African American and Washington, DC, history and urban studies.