DC By the Book

Excerpt: During recess, all the girls gathered on the playground in their little groups and did different things. There were the fly girls.... Another group was the squares or, if you wanted to be a little nicer about it, the bookworms.... Then there were the hard girls. They mostly lived on the other side of Rhode Island Avenue, where the houses and apartments were older and smaller. Some of them were even projects. At school, these girls stood around on the edge of the playground wearing black leather jackets, sneaking cigarettes, and joning on each other.

Excerpt: She wasn't exactly Miss Popularity and didn't get asked to many parties, but she went whenever she was invited and always had fun. Then she remembered that Jennifer went to Wilson, not McKinley. Wilson was a whole different ball game. The thought of being in a room with a bunch of Jennifers was more scary than exciting.

Excerpt: All hell broke loose the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.... Joshua was nowhere to be found, so Mama kept jumping up and looking out the window for him. "It's too dangerous out there. The news said gangs of people are on the streets looting.... Oh, there's Joshua now. Thank goodness!.... Where have you been all this time?" Mama asked as Joshua shut the door behind him. Joshua's eyes were big as gold balls, and he was practically hopping with excitement. "I went over to 14th Street with Dean to see what was happening." -- "Didn't you know that would be dangerous after something like this?" Daddy said. "You should have called," Mama said. "I would have. But things were moving so fast," he said breathlessly. "People are mad as hell. Fires are starting up and down the streets. This town's gonna blow.------------------------From the late 19th century through the early part of the 20th century, U Street and the surrounding area was the nexus of black commerce and nightlife. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, the corner of 14th and U Streets NW was the center of Washington, DC’s riots . As those who participated in the rioting have described, the riots began as an outpouring of grief for the death of King but quickly morphed into anger at country and system in which demands for racial equality were met with violence against movement leaders. The riots lasted almost four days. In addition to extensive property damage ($24 million worth), at least thirteen people were killed with hundreds of others injured. Unfortunately, much of the area devastated by the riots remained blighted for nearly 50 years.

Excerpt: They rode down Fifteenth Street toward Hains Point and the Tidal Basin along the Potomac River. The area was a popular spot when the cherry blossoms were in bloom, but it was practically deserted now. Naomi thought it was strange that he'd want to ride around down here, since it was always windier than anywhere else in the city and too cold to get out of the car. But as they talked and Jimmy slowly circled the peninsula along Ohio Drive, she realized that cruising in his car and talking was probably his idea of the perfect date. "Did you know that three thousand cherry trees were planted during the Wilson administration?" Jimmy asked.

Excerpt: The drove downtown and got a bite to eat. Then Naomi suggested they go dancing.... Jimmy had a friend who was a member of the Foxtrappe, D.C.'s hottest and most exclusive night spot, so he called and got him to put their names on the list. Naomi had heard that if you didn't have the right credentials and make at least fifteen thousand a year or know someone who belonged, you couldn't get past the front desk, so Jimmy's friend must have something going for him.

Excerpt: It was tense at first, with the three of them piled tightly into Jennifer's two-seater. But by the time they pulled up in front of the skating rink on 16th Street, Debbie and Jennifer were chattering about accounting and the upcoming skating adventure like two old friends. It turned out that Debbie had learned to skate when she started taking Serena to the rink. Naomi was so happy to see them getting on easily that she didn't even mind when they skated off together and left her wobbling on her feet.--------------------------The Citadel was built in 1947 and housed the National Arena Roller Rink, a public skate center and bowling alley. It integrated 10 years later, one of the first in the region to do so. The roller rink quickly became a center of black nightlife and culture, particularly after the 1968 riots destroyed much of U Street. The building was sold and repurposed as a movie and video studio in the 1980s. When the owner failed to profit from that venture, he reopened the building as a part time rink and concert hall in 1991. It was shuttered a year later because of noise complaints. Douglas Development Company purchased the property in the mid-2000s and converted it to what it is today: a mixed retail and residential building featuring apartments, a Harris Teeter grocery store, and a gym.

Excerpt: The architect's office was in a brick row house off Connecticut Avenue, near Adams Morgan. I twas one Washington's more desirable neighborhoods, with a mixture of homes and small businesses. Naomi was impressed. If he could afford digs here, he must be good at what he did.

Excerpt: "That one's lovely," Mama said as Naomi stood on the platform in front of the three-way mirror in Neiman Marcus in about the twentieth dress she'd tried on that day.... It was a beautiful off-the-shoulder number in pale lavender. And it was something she'd be able to wear to formals in the future. But at $600 it was twice what she'd planned to spend.... "Go ahead and get," Debbie said. "It's gorgeous on you." -- "Yes," Mama said. "We've already been to every shop on Connecticut Avenue and here at the Mazza Gallerie." -- "I know. But I need time to talk myself into spending this kind of money, especially since I'm saving for the business."

Excerpt: Now that Debbie had a boyfriend who took up almost all her time, though, Naomi agreed to help Jennifer with her skirt. Mama was delighted she was making friends with someone like Jennifer Jones and was more than happy to drive her all the way across town to her fancy neighborhood. All the houses were so big, they looked like something in a magazine. Mama said it was called the Gold Coast.----------------------------The northern portion of 16th Street (beginning with the tony neighborhood of Crestwood and reaching up to Rock Creek Park’s Carter Barron Amphitheater) was one of the first areas of DC to be integrated after restrictive residential laws were declared unconstitutional in the 1950s. The area quickly became a fashionable neighborhood for professional and influential middle class African Americans and gained the sobriquet “the Gold Coast.”