Watch the Video Here!
Technology Glitch Prevented Many From Tuning In Live
We are pleased to post the recording of the in-demand Zoom webinar held Sept. 16 that explores the little-known history of racial displacement that occurred in Chevy Chase nearly 100 years ago to the descendants of enslaved man George Pointer.
It was the granddaughter of Pointer, who bought his own freedom while working for George Washington’s canal on the Potomac River, who settled on Broad Branch Road in the 1840s. The small community of Black landowners thrived there for about 80 years until forced to leave in 1928 by eminent domain so the then-Whites-only Lafayette Elementary School and park could be built.
The Zoom webinar featured HCCDC Board Member and Chevy Chase native Tim Hannapel in a conversation with James Fisher, a direct descendant of Pointer, and genealogist Tanya Hardy who has been tracing the family roots. HCCDC’s Chas Cadwell was MC of the event.
The much-heralded event was one of several Zoom conversations we have hosted as part of a virtual “Race Matters Locally” series. More than 450 people signed up to attend it, which we believed our Zoom license could handle. Unfortunately, it topped off at 100 participants, leaving so many of you without a connection. We apologize for our error and are working to correct it.
For more in-depth information about all the components of this project — including HCCDC’s efforts to rename Lafayette Park in honor of George Pointer’s family — see our website’s Lafayette-Pointer Project page. You can also hear some recorded testimony from the Sept. 15 DC City Council hearing to officially change the name of the land to Lafayette-Pointer Park and Recreation Center.