Black Renaissance in D.C.

The Black Renaissance in D.C. was a social, intellectual, and cultural movement in Washington, D.C. that began in 1919 and continued into the late 1920s.

[3] While the Black Renaissance movement ultimately began in Harlem, Manhattan, New York, with the Harlem Renaissance, the movement ultimately spread to cities across the United States.

In Washington, D.C., the movement began on July 19, 1919, with the alleged sexual assault of a white woman by a black predator.

The event was never confirmed, but it incited inflammatory responses from the four daily newspapers in the city.

Several hundred whites formed a mob near Murder Bay off of Pennsylvania Avenue, a neighborhood known for prostitution and violence.