Starting with the compromise of locating the nation’s in the South, the history of DC has always been intimately tied with the role and impact of race on the country's history. The city is scarred by memories of slavery, challenged by the terrible poverty and poor housing during the Civil War and touched by the inspirational vision of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. This tour will include the site of the Yellow House (made famous in the movie Twelve Years a Slave), Blagden Alley, the Lincoln Memorial, the MLK Memorial and the U Street and 14th corridor, formerly known as Black Broadway.

Until the Civil War slave pens dotted the Mall and we will visit several sites linked to the slave trade and discuss the daily challenges of living a border city. When freed from slavery many black Washingtonians lived in cramped alleys, in squalid conditions. We will get a glimpse of alley life by visiting the only remaining alley in the city — a small block which housed 400 people. DC was also central in the Civil Rights struggle and we will talk about the journey from the Marion Anderson concert, through MLK’s March on Washington to Marion Barry’s leadership of DC in the 80s and 90s.