ORAL HISTORY

We collect, document and preserve the stories and memories of Foggy Bottom residents by recording their remembrances and making them accessible to all. Foggy Bottom was a very different place prior to urban renewal in the 1950s and recording memories is a critical way of preserving that history.

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FBA History Project

Feb. 16, 2022

Colbert King is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist. This interview was conducted by Frank Leone for the FBA HP/Foggy Bottom West End Village and focuses on the 1940s-1950s, when Foggy Bottom was majority African American.

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FBWE

March 20, 2021

The FBWE had an excellent discussion with Leo Warring, author of The Foggy Bottom Gang: The Story of The Warring Brothers of Washington, D.C., which details his family history, including in bootlegging and gambling, in the Foggy Bottom area.

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GWU

Feb. 29, 2012

Columnist Colbert King and panelists Mary Brown, W. David Riley, and James Briscoe spoke about their memories of growing up in Foggy Bottom.

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GW Digital DC: A Community History Project – 2013-2014 – Interviews with people about the greater Foggy Bottom Community, including longtime FBA Activist Ellie Becker.

Part 1

Part 2

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Script from an oral history conversation

St. Mary’s Court Oral History Project

Never Too Old to Learn (1992-1993)

Interviews by residents of the senior living facility in Foggy Bottom. Residents, volunteers, and staff members of St. Mary’s share their personal histories and discuss topics including African-American family life, growing up in D.C., and the district’s changing landscape.

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