Existing comment:
World War II Victory Celebration:
1945. In August 1945, Washingtonians gathered in Lafayette Square, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, to await news of the surrender of Japan. When the official announcement came on Aug. 14, thousands of people poured onto the avenue to celebrate the victory.
1946-1971: Time of Turmoil:
"As a colored woman I may walk from the Capitol to the White House ravenously hungry and supplied with money to purchase a meal without finding a single restaurant in which I would be permitted to take a morsel of food if it was patronized by white people, unless I were to sit behind a screen."
-- Mary Church Terrell
Push for Civil Rights:
Washington was a segregated city in the first half of the century, but a powerful push for equality by local activists mirrored the growing national civil rights movement. A 1953 Supreme Court ruling had the effect of ending most segregation in restaurants, theaters, and similar establishments in Washington. Two great demonstrations, the giant March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 and the Poor People's Campaign in 1968, brought the national civil rights movement to Washington. As the country became more divided over social and economic issues, Pennsylvania Avenue drew numerous national demonstrations. |