51 Steps to Freedom  TM
“It isn't where you come from; it's where you're going that counts.”
— Ella Fitzgerald
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Anacostia

In the 1850s, America was heading toward a deadly confrontation between free and slave states. To promote unity between the North and the South, this area in Southeast DC. was initially named Uniontown. It was a White suburban community at the time. After the Uncivil War, new towns called Uniontown started cropping up all over, creating confusion for services like mail delivery. To ease the confusion, Congress enacted legislation to change the name to Anacostia on April 22, 1886, making Anacostia the only community whose name was affixed by Congress. The name Anacostia was derived from a Native American word meaning "village trading center."

Did You Know?
Behind Douglass' Cedar Hill mansion is his secret hideaway.
Douglass' Growlery, circa 11880s-1890s (NPS Photo)
Did You Know?
Frederick Douglass was asked to become the president of the American Equal Rights Association
Officer's of the National Woman's Party outside the NWP headquarters in Washinton, D.C., June 1920 (AP Photo)
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