Jamila Jordan

Jamila Jordan grew up in D.C., which means that she was at the Smithsonian every other weekend and for every class field trip. This early exposure to history and culture inspired a lifelong interest in the subject, particularly in the history of indigenous peoples of different areas. She’s been able to expand upon this somewhat through her travels to various countries. Jamila is excited to do more travelling to learn about the history of different cultures, especially ones that are not well known about. In her free time Jamila enjoys exploring different types of food; the strangest thing she has eaten so far is guinea pig, which was a little chewy and stringy, but not at all bad.

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The picturesque Old Town we know today didn’t just happen naturally. It was planned in response to America’s burgeoning historic preservation movement, mid-century urban renewal efforts and a lot of involvement from local citizens.

During the morning commute on Metro, trains are packed. A lot of riders are commuters coming in from Maryland or Northern Virginia. The Metro wasn’t the initial plan; back in the 1950s, the plan was to set up a freeway system to make it easier for people in the suburbs to access D.C. But due to the persistence of citizen groups, this was not to be.

The price of public transportation in D.C. is rising and people are angry. Although this statement could accurately describe the present time, let’s turn back the clock to 1965.

D.C. Transit had just announced plans to raise bus fares and one man wasn’t having it. This man was Marion Barry, who would go on to become mayor of D.C., serving four terms. But Barry wasn’t mayor yet. He was a relatively new resident in D.C., having moved here to open up a local chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Barry saw the bus company’s raised rates as a direct hit to low income people in the District, who were mostly African American.