MLK, DC’s Black Heritage, Chuck Brown, Frankie and Me

Martin Luther KIng Memorial

With all the press lately about the official opening of the Martin Luther King Memorial, I thought I’d share with you a spirited night in Washington, DC spent with my oldest brother, Frank. He’s a real doer and whether it’s work or personal, he knows how to select and orchestrate all the right elements to achieve maximum results. In this case, it was about showing his younger sister a good time.

He had reserved a late Sunday afternoon and evening for us in August. Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go, a style of music that incorporates jazz, funk, R & B, hip-hop and dancehall, was to be the main attraction. Frankie had secured the tickets at DC’s renowned 9:30 Club as soon as he knew I was headed his way, about a month before the show. I hadn’t heard anything about Chuck Brown, but trusted that my brother was lining up a fun night out. He’s a big planner—much like me—and that quality along with a nice dose of serendipity laid out an evening that bobbed along beautifully on a helluva cross cultural theme.

Without any discussion whatsoever, the car pointed in the direction of the freshly-opened MLK Memorial. It was the Sunday after Hurricane Irene blew through our nation’s capitol (along with most of the eastern seaboard), so the Memorial’s official opening—slated for that weekend—had been postponed. Frank and I thought we’d check it out anyway since although not properly christened, it was open. No luck. We drove along the Potomac on the roadway bordering the monument, creeping along with the hope that we’d find a car that would pull out and leave its parking space for us. No way. You couldn’t even shoehorn a moped in between the lineup of vehicles. Not surprisingly, most of the visitors headed to or from the MLK Memorial were African-American or at least of some kind of Negro heritage. They had waited long enough for the tribute to their esteemed leader—it was time to take a look. Frank and I gave up searching for a spot. I felt somewhat disappointed but bowed out gracefully with the sentiments that it would be best for us to leave any free parking to the people for whom Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speech meant the most.

Frank zoomed off to the Greater U Street district where we’d later be taking in the concert. We parked and began to explore. Here I discovered a culturally diverse neighborhood, peppered with all kinds of people from varying social classes. It took me a total of two minutes to notice a lot of buff and stylish gay men, always a good sign, indicating that a neighborhood has been gentrified enough to possess a worthwhile dining and shopping scene.

“Ever eat Ethiopian?” Frank asked. I admitted I hadn’t but always wanted to try. “Well you know you’re going to have to eat with your hand,” he quipped, almost like a dare. Suddenly images of his travel tales in Africa where you eat with the right hand and take care of the “necessary” with the left flashed into my head. He must have noticed my hesitation, since in perhaps an effort to assuage my confusion, he informed me that at these Ethiopian restaurants you scoop the food up with bread.

“Well, then that’s O.K.,” I piped up, almost defensively. My brother knows me as one to be enchanted with fine restaurants and hotels, so I was determined to show him a more adventuresome side of myself. I had been referred to as “fussy Aunt Bessie” one too many times in my life anyway.

Sitting out in the sidewalk seating area of Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant watching the colorful parade of people pass by with my bro was great fun. I found the food tasty but couldn’t get past the spongey, amoeba-like bread served with it. I felt too proud to eat the spicy and savory mélange of meat and vegetable dishes solely with a fork and instead nearly gagged downing the gelatinous substance referred to as bread. The restaurant was packed, so I figured it was more of a mental block for me. I guess I won’t be going to Ethiopia anytime soon.

Ben’s Chili Bowl

It was a delicious summer evening and after dinner, Frank and I strolled through the neighborhood, checking out the scene from end to end. I was delighted to discover that Greater U Street is considered the historic heart of DC’s African-American community. I stopped in front of a plaque indicating Lincoln Theater, now restored to its 1922 grandeur. Cab Calloway, Pearl Bailey, Sarah Vaughan and Louis Armstrong all performed there. I imagined the elegance of the folks that attended these great events during an era when every man had to wear a tie. (And you can bet the ladies were dressed to the nines, too!)

We stopped at Ben’s Chili Bowl, a National Landmark, one of the oldest, continuously running black-owned and operated businesses in the country. Founded in 1958, Ben’s has witnessed a lot of happenings during its history including the riots of 1968 following the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. I checked out their brightly-lighted interior and perused their menus. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and I suspected they were packed during most of their hours of operation. As much as I enjoyed sitting on a patio with Frank, I couldn’t help thinking that bellying up to the counter together would have been a real hoot.

Ben’s Chili Scene

We read more plaques on our way to the 9:30 Club and peeked into a few more restaurants. The place was hopping and Frank confirmed that Greater U Street, DC’s historic Black Broadway, was experiencing a resurgence of nightlife today.

Chuck Brown: The Godfather of Go-Go

The 9:30 Club stands out as one of the hottest places to listen to music in all of DC. By the time we arrived, it was already raging. Frank and I made it to the upstairs balcony and claimed a sliver of space where we remained for the rest of the show. The immense, dark cavernous space was packed and as I looked around, noticed mostly with people of color. Wow, I thought to myself, we have a very vibrant music scene in Telluride with world-class performers such as David Byrne, B.B. King, Mumford and Sons and more that headline our big music festivals, but our audiences are almost entirely white-bread even though people come from near and far. What a fabulous destination I had found myself in!

My brother grinned ear-to-ear and we both began to groove and gyrate to Chuck’s runaway beat. I felt the floor shake beneath me. I brushed off an Oh God moment, but still made note of the exits in case of emergency or some other need for mass exodus. Wind me up Chuck was setting the house ‘a fire and my brother and I were fanning his flames. I raised my hands and clapped to the beat. People exploded all around us. But as I scanned this large venue, I noticed that everyone was punching their fist—mostly their right one—into the air. I tried that, but it felt strange, so I kept reverting to raising my hands and clapping them together à la Telluride. More Black power. Then more fist pumping. The floor swagged and swayed. Frankie smiled. And then finally I punched my right fist up into the air and screamed. Ya-hoo! Gotta love Go-Go.

Frank and I could barely drag ourselves out of bed the next morning. Thank goodness he’s a go-getter, since he has to work to preserve our country’s Social Security. I’m just a freelance writer out for a good time.

I can’t wait for another outing with my bro in DC. Somehow I think next time it might very well include an actual trip to the MLK Memorial. Maybe I’ll make him swing by Ben’s Chili Bowl for a chili dog afterward. Their famous chili is known to make a hot dog bark. Or a white girl pump her fist.

MLK Memorial

The African-American Heritage Trail in DC boasts some two hundred historic sites around the city, about one hundred of them featuring plaques. You can find sites and plaques in almost every neighborhood of the city. Visit Cultural Tourism DC to find out more.

9:30 Club, 815 V Street NW, 202-265-0930 or 877-435-9849 for tickets.

Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant, 1114-1118 U Street NW, 202-667-8735.

Ben’s Chili Bowl, 1114-1118 U Street NW, 202-667-0909.

A Couple of Other Restaurants I Scouted Out within the Greater U Street Neighborhood

Coppi’s Organic Restaurant, 1414 U Street NW, 202-319-7773; a Zagat-rated restaurant.

American Ice Company, 917 V Street NW, 202-758-3562, a hip bar and restaurant near the 9:30 Club.

Note also that the scene at the 9:30 Club changes according to the performer. My brother is slated to see my guy Willie Nelson there in November!

Thank you to the Washington, DC Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Gediyon Kifle, Chuck Brown and Ben’s Chili Bowl for the use of the images in this post.