The death of Christopher Barry came unexpectedly. He was the only child of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and Effi Barry and had eulogized both of his parents. A group of friends gathered at We Act Radio in Anacostia to share memories; many that did not make it into many media stories of his death. Thanks to Kymone Freeman for sharing these powerful words.

Anacostia Unmapped

Brave Heart: Friends Remember Marion Christopher Barry

Troy Donte Prestwood (pictured) has lived in all corners of the District, but for the last nine years he’s called Anacostia home. Today he represents the neighborhood in local government as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. And he says Anacostia is definitely unlike other parts of the city: The river has a different rhythm, and the neighborhood marches to a different beat. He speaks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about the changes he is seeing.

A Tapestry Of The Good, The Bad And The Getting Better

Most Anacostia residents know the power and fame associated with the home of Frederick Douglass. A few even remember the period between the famous abolitionist's death and the property's designation as a national historic site — the years when the community, including a Cub Scout troop, took care of things. Jason Fuller talks with two longtime residents, Sandy Allen and Arrington Dixon, about their memories.

Love For A Landmark

Spend time in Anacostia, and the G-word often comes up: gentrification. It's the "most loaded word in the English language," says Adele Robey, founder of Anacostia Playhouse on Shannon Place SE. She talks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about being "the resident white woman" in neighborhood conversations about arts and development, and what it's like to run a theater in a community that scrutinizes every development project for its potential to displace people. (Robey herself is performing in a show, Riches, at the theater through early August.)

Does Art Have A Color?

A night at the legendary basketball court in Barry Farms, Washington D.C.

Imagination on Pavement

As the country tries to make sense of this weeks violence, we are reminded that a mother who loses her son must take on a long fight to find out what happened to him. The story of Beverly Smith and her son Alonzo Smith, who was killed by special police in Anacostia. Interview by Kymone Freeman. Photo by Brandon Gatling.

Living with a Death in Anacostia: Beverly Smith's Son

Neighborhoods in Washington are constantly shifting, and Anacostia finds itself in the midst of one such change. So let’s start today with the Great Migration, when tens of thousands of African Americans left the South and many stopped right here in Washington D.C. Charlene Butler Rutger’s family was one of many shaped by that migration. Her grandfather came and then almost all of his brothers and sisters followed him to Anacostia. Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson talks with her about how social networks — and family dinner in particular — grounds them in tradition. Photograph by Brandon Gatling.

Family Dinner

This map was never drawn. It had to be memorized. It led the way through early Washington City, where buildings we all know — like the Capitol and the Smithsonian "castle" — were only halfway built. The map led to freedom, to a schooner called The Pearl. It was the escape plan of slaves. Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson has the story. Photo: "Male adult slave escaping by way of a river" via The New York Public Library Digital Collections

The Pearl

Anacostia is the inner city in a lot of outsiders' minds, but not all of the Southeast D.C. neighborhood is densely populated. Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson — who often takes his young daughter along on interviews — talks with mother and songwriter Tamika Jones about how her perception of the neighborhood has changed over the years. For Jones, "infamous Anacostia" offers a lot to anybody who wants to share a leafy park or a good view with their family.

Tamika Jones Sings a Song for Anacostia

A young woman boards a bus in Richmond and heads for 17th and L streets in the District. Her first job out of high school: Taking dictation from government lawyers and then burning the typewriter ribbon. After her plan for housing falls through, she finds an apartment in Anacostia. For an out-of-towner, "it was the big city," says Caroline G. Pleasant, who talks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about her experience settling in Southeast D.C. nearly five decades ago. Photo: National Youth Administration youth assis in the South Parkway Branch of the YWCA in Chicago in an undated photo. More information: nypl.org

First Job, New Boyfriend, 1968

n this edition of Anacostia Unmapped, we visit D.C.'s Takoma neighborhood to hear from a woman who was inspired by our story about Aunt Helen, a legendary neighborhood-watcher in Anacostia. Original photograph by Brandon Gatling.

We Have Eyes On Each Other

When Alicia Bennett and her husband moved to Anacostia three years ago, some friends said, “That’s not safe for your family, for your kids.” But the couple wanted to buy a house in the city, and it was the only place they could afford. As a white family in a thoroughly African-American neighborhood, they've given a lot of thought to how they present themselves. She talks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about living in a community where the racial and economic divides are obvious. (Photo by Jason Fuller)

Meet The New Neighbors

Musician, actor and longtime Southeast D.C. resident Jason Anderson has been playing go-go since he was young. He talks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about his love for neighborhood heroes the Junkyard Band, and what it's like when a go-go band finds the "pocket" — the part of a song when percussion reigns supreme and the crowd is fully absorbed in Washington's home-grown offshoot of funk music. Photo by Othello Banaci

In Go-Go's 'Pocket'

Growing up with three brothers can make a girl want her own home. So imagine one who starts babysitting at 14, saves her money and hides it from her brothers. She picks out the house she wants to buy, goes to college and starts a daycare. Renita "Mommy Gayle" Simril talks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about her childhood in Anacostia, a spooky experience in the famous Frederick Douglass Home nearby, and how she acquired the house of her dreams in the neighborhood.

The House That Gayle Built

The story of a map, settlers and the first people of Anacostia. Listen as poet and playwright John Johnson talks with Jason Anderson about his real and present connection to the first natives that lived along the Anacostia River.

The Settler and the Map

Collaborative radio project between residents, Katie Davis, @WAMU885 @AIRmedia & @WeActRadio about the forgotten bottom of DC

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Anacostia Unmapped

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