Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

ENROLLED ORIGINAL

                               A CEREMONAL RESOLUTION

                                             25-109

                     IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

                                      September 19, 2023

       To recognize and celebrate the Langston Terrace Dwellings for its 85th year anniversary.

       WHEREAS, built from 1935 to 1938 exclusively for African American residents, the

Langston Terrace Dwellings opened in 1938;

        WHEREAS, Langston Terrace Dwellings were the first affordable housing complex in

the District and second of its kind in the nation;

       WHEREAS, at the time African Americans were denied equal opportunities such as

housing, banks, and the court system to name a few;

      WHEREAS, Langston Terrace Dwellings was funded by the Public Works

Administration Housing Program;

      WHEREAS, 274-unit Langston Terrace Dwellings were mostly built by African

Americans and designed by native Washingtonian and architect African American Hilyard

Robinson and named after John Mercer Langston, Howard University Law School founder and

US congressman from Virginia;

        WHEREAS, Langston Terrace Dwellings was listed in the National Register of Historic

Places in 1987;

        WHEREAS, Hilyard Robinson was born in Capitol Hill in 1899, graduated from M

Street High School, studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and received a

graduate degree from Columbia University;

        WHEREAS, Hilyard Robinson studied architecture in Europe, taught at Howard

University, and worked at the Department of the Interior as an architect designing public housing

for African Americans;

        WHEREAS, Langston Terrace Dwellings houses a terra cotta frieze by Daniel Olney

called “The Progress of the Negro Race” in the central courtyard and chronicles African

American history from enslavement through World War I migration;

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      WHEREAS, Langston Terrace Dwellings was a catalyst for the passage of the national

Housing Act;

        WHEREAS, Langston Terrace Dwellings are within walking distance of the Langston

Golf Course and Driving Range, named after John Mercer Langston, the first African American

elected into public office;

         WHEREAS, Langston Terrace Dwellings became a hub for the community and hosted a

library, nursery school and recreation center; and

        WHEREAS, the historic 11-acre site is undergoing a revitalization and modernization of

the historic property.

        RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this

resolution may be cited as the “Langston Terrace Dwellings Ceremonial Resolution of 2023”.

       Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia honors recognizes and celebrates the

Langston Terrace Dwellings for its 85th year anniversary.

       Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.

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