Anacostia Community Museum
Anacostia Today: The Evolution of a Community, Part 2: Continued
March 1, 1973 – July 31, 1973
Originally shown in 1972 as part of Museum’s fifth anniversary, this exhibit continues its focus on five major topics of deep concern to residents of Anacostia, a neighborhood in southeast Washington, D.C. A survey revealed the community’s greatest concerns include housing, unemployment, education, crime, and drugs. Anacostians remember a tight-knit, safe community prior to the Southwest Urban Renewal projects, which displaced thousands of people. As a result, Anacostia’s population density increased, while access to jobs and recreation opportunities declined. In a domino effect, unemployment, crime, and drug use rose. Residents also perceive that underlying problems are receiving inadequate government attention, including racial discrimination, ineffective unemployment and social services, and an education system strained by inadequate schools, overcrowded classes, and outdated curriculum.
Separate “Help Wanted” signs list jobs for males and females in the storefront window of a job center in southeast Washington, D.C., 1972. Photo by Mike Fischer.
