Existing comment:
(right) Callbox 5 - 14th and G sts NW - Mary Church Terrell
Lifelong civil rights and women's rights activist Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) helped end racial discrimination in restaurants and other public accommodations in the District. In 1950 she and colleagues were refused service at the whites-only Thompson's Cafeteria, nearby at 725 14th Street. Invoking 19th century anti-discrimination laws, they persuaded the city to sue Thompson's. The case advanced to the Supreme Court, which in 1953 outlawed discrimination in DC's public accommodations, in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc. |