Local History
Here are resources for D.C. area educators to teach local history, outside the textbook. Please note most of the resources to date are on D.C.
Lessons and Teaching Resources
A lesson on D.C. statehood by Amy Trenkle, a Washington, D.C. based 8th Grade US History Teacher.
A mini-unit about identity, power, oppression, democracy, resistance, emancipation, and liberation in Washington, D.C. from 1862 to present.
This lesson introduces students to important historical figures who have had an impact on the history of Washington D.C.
Lessons and teaching ideas for infusing the history and music of go-go in the classroom.
A “learn-as-you-go” quiz about D.C. to help fill the gaps in the traditional textbooks and guided tours.
Historic Sites, Archives, and Organizations
One family and three photographers — Addison Scurlock and his sons, Robert and George—shared nine decades of documenting Black life in Washington, DC. This National Gallery of Art exhibit examines their legacy.
Josiah Henson Museum & Park tells the story about the life and challenges of Reverend Josiah Henson, enslavement in Maryland, and the ongoing struggles of racial equality and justice.
Montgomery History collects, preserves, interprets, and shares the histories of all of Montgomery County’s residents.
Located in the Anacostia neighborhood, the Anacostia Community Museum examines, documents, and interprets the impact of historical and contemporary social issues on urban communities.
The nonprofit Sugarland Ethno-History Project maintains the historic 1893 Sugarland church, the cemetery behind it, and a vast collection of artifacts.
An app that allows users to experience the U.S. capital by touring 17 local sites that are filled with Indigenous history and importance.
The first and only museum in our nation’s capital dedicated to the Chinese American story – its history, culture, and voice.
Oral history interviews of 29 significant activists, artists, political leaders, and scholars who helped define the Black Power era in Washington, D.C.
Black Power in Washington D.C. plots Black Power activism in the District between the years 1961 and 1998.
The DC History Center deepens understanding of Washington D.C.’s past to connect, empower, and inspire.
For 40 years photographer Nancy Shia took countless photos of a D.C. community not only in transition, but on the verge of being completely forgotten and erased.
Segregation and Desegregation in Fairfax County, Virginia Schools from May 17, 1954 until the start of the 1965-66 school year.
An exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum which documents the history of resisting gentrification in D.C.
Strategies and resources one teacher used for teaching D.C. from a bottom-up perspective.
Photo archives of the Washington Area Spark, a monthly newspaper published from 1971-73.
A public history project documenting the historic segregation of Washington, D.C.
A virtual tour of the oldest existing street mural in Washington DC, painted in the '70s in a community effort led by artist Carlos Salazar.
In the 1950’s the VIA provided opportunities to African-American high schools that were otherwise inaccessible due to racial, social and economic barriers.
Learn More
Learn more about DC history from the D.C. History Center.