Initiatives > MVT Photo Walk
About the Show
The DC History Center brings its immersive Class Action exhibit out of its headquarters at the historic Carnegie Library (801 K Street NW) and onto the MVT Photo Walk (400 block of K Street NW and Prather’s Alley). The 40-panel collection at the MVT Photo Walk is a continued exploration of what it means to grow up and go to school in the nation’s capital. With archival photos on display from as far back as the early 1900s, Class Action at the MVT Photo Walk invites the viewer to walk through history on their way to work, visiting a friend, or grabbing a bite along Mount Vernon Triangle’s bustling K Street retail corridor and consider the statement that “DC history is American history.”
Class Action at the DC History Center was curated by Historian Erica Sterling, who also serves as an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Virginia.
Learn more about the DC History Center at dchistory.org.
Support for this exhibit provided by ANC 6E.
Download the official Press Release for DC History Center’s Class Action at the MVT Photo Walk.
About the DC History Center
For over 130 years the DC History Center has served as Washington, DC’s memory bank. We are the only community-based nonprofit focused solely on collecting, preserving, and telling DC stories, from the founding as the nation’s capital to the present moment.
Anchored in the Carnegie Library in Downtown, the DC History Center offers programming that matches any level of knowledge or engagement – from youth education and community events to free exhibits and deep research opportunities through our historic collections.
For more information, visit dchistory.org.
About Class Action at the DC History Center
Class Action: Education and Opportunity in the Nation’s Capital features stories of dedicated teachers, school leaders, parents, students, and activists who have worked to protect and strengthen DC’s tradition of Black educational excellence. Class photos and yearbooks along with playful vintage furniture and costumes invite hands-on exploration of what it means to grow up and go to school in the nation’s capital.
Community members built and ran their own schools until the end of slavery, when Congress created DC’s separate Black school system. Over the course of the next century, many African American scholars were prevented by racism from pursuing their chosen careers. Instead, they became teachers in the nation’s capital, helping the city earn a national reputation for its outstanding Black schools.
The exhibit also highlights Black Washingtonians’ fight for their fair share of resources, even after the Supreme Court finally desegregated DC’s “separate but equal” schools. The stories of people who lived this history, along with class photos, yearbooks, and more, are evidence of how local activism created lasting change.
Class Action invites you to explore this inspiring legacy—and to reflect on how schools have shaped you and your community, wherever you’re from.
Hours: Thursdays – Saturdays, Noon – 6pm
Visitors to the DC History Center’s “Class Action” exhibit try their hand at identifying DC neighborhoods on an interactive panel. Photo by Farrah Skeiky.
Past MVT Photo Walk Shows
Read more about our past shows:
February 2025 – June 2026: “BlackHair” by Marvin Bowser
September 2024 – February 2025: “Mount Vernon Triangle: Community in Detail”
August, 2023 – September 2024: “24 Hours of Life in MVT”
December, 2022 – August 2023: “Through the Looking Glass“
Dunbar High School basketball team. Courtesy Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institutions Scurlock
