Boundary Stones | WETA's Washington DC Local History Website

Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins wears a bandana as she crawls up the U.S. Capitol steps on her hands and knees. On her left is a man bending over and on her right a woman moves up the stairs on her back. All three protesters wear matching light blue shirts from the ADAPT organization. In front of them are media personnel with cameras and microphones recording the protest. [Photo Credit: Associated Press]

The Capitol Crawl Demonstration Helped Pass the ADA

When Congressional delay jeopardized the Americans with Disabilities Act, protesters responded with a powerful demonstration on the Capitol steps.

Decades Before Rosa Parks, D.C.'s Barbara Pope Challenged Segregation on Public Transportation

Though Rosa Parks may be the face of peaceful resistance to segregation on public transportation, she was not the first to adopt the strategy. Claudette Colvin, Ellen Harris, Maggie Lena Walker, Ida B...
Frederick Douglass’s Son Charles Pioneered Black Baseball in D.C.

Washington, DC, has a rich baseball history stretching back over 160 years. But long before the Nationals and Senators of Major League Baseball and the Negro leagues’ Homestead Grays won over legions...
During the Civil War, Roosevelt Island Was Home to Black Troops and a Freedman’s Camp

While it’s known today for its forested hiking trails and outdoor memorial to America’s 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt Island played a prominent role in Washington, DC’s Civil War history. In 1863...

The lead contingent of an Equal Rights Amendment demonstration proceeds down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol on July 9, 1978.

Women's History Month

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The Anti-Flirt Club: The Movement to End Unwanted Attention in the 1920s

In the 1920s, a group of D.C. women formed the Anti-Flirt Club to put a stop to the increasingly annoying, and at times dangerous, problem of men harassing women from motor vehicles and street corners.
August 14, 2025
- Washington, D.C.
By Lily Applebaum
Women at War: The Navy's First African American Yeomanettes

As the United States entered World War I, women became a vital part of the war effort. The Navy created a single unit of African-American Yeomanettes, which was assigned to Washington D.C.'s Navy Yard, and quickly made an impression.
August 7, 2018
- Washington, D.C.
By Shaune Lee
Pioneering D.C. Artist Inez Demonet Helped WWI Soldiers Put Their Lives Back Together

Washington based artist Inez M. Demonet specialized in etchings and watercolors of District landmarks and people, but she spent most of her time in an office at the National Institute of Health, where she worked as a medical illustrator. Her pioneering work during World War I helped educate doctors and public health professionals, and even helped repair the lives of soldiers returning from World War I. It was not a job for the faint of heart.
March 29, 2024
- Washington, D.C.
By Katherine Brodt

Watch & Learn

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The Silent Sentinels Turned the Tide for Women’s Suffrage

Suffragists in Washington overcame brutality in the fight for the vote.
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The History of the Monopoly Board Game Might Surprise You

Think you know the history of the Monopoly board game? You might be surprised.
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When Women Marched and Men Rioted: The 1913 Women's Suffrage March

In 1913, thousands of women paraded through DC, overcoming crowds of drunken men to demand the vote.

First Dupont Circle High Heel Race

Twenty-five people participate in the first Halloween drag queen high heel race in Dupont Circle. The event is now an annual tradition that attracts thousands.