(ThyBlackMan.com) If you get the chance to visit Washington D.C. and you happen to be anywhere near Southwest Wharf or Nationals Stadium, you will find amongst the natives remains of what was once an educational triangle for Black children for over 40 years. Hidden behind new age High priced high rise apartments sits James Creek Community. A lower income Black community in the pipeline of DC which leads to Capitol Hill and Downtown DC and out to Southeast DC. My family roots run through this community,as does my childhood, and a family tradition for this community was the elementary schools we and many of our children and parents attended.
All three were vastly different while in the same community but it was representative of the state of Black America then and now. Syphax sits at 1360 Half Street, what is now an apartment complex, was known for its poor up keep, rodent infestation, and the fact that most students were severely under-educated due to the lack of staff, lack of funding and most important,Reaganomics.
Opened in 1901, Syphax was built to serve the Black Community of Southwest DC. Named after William Syphax, the first President of the Board of Trustees of Colored Schools of Washington and Georgetown, Syphax school was last renovated in 1953 which really sucked for us in the 80s who attended. In the 90s it was closed and left abandoned by the city. Which led to massive over crowding of local schools one of the schools to receive Syphax students was Anthony Bowen Elementary.
Anthony Bowen Elementary sits 101 M Street SW, what is now a police substation. Named after Anthony Bowen ,a former slave from PG County Maryland and abolitionist who harbored runaway slaves in his house at 900 E street SW as a stop on the Underground Railroad, Bowen Elementary was established in 1931. Bowen was one of the few schools in the 80s that offered Talented And Gifted programs to honor students.
Many of us who were lucky enough to be in the program were able to experience and learn speech writing, public speaking, advanced math and reading and our favorite…..Field Trips! I was fortunate enough to attend Bowen from Pre-K through 6th grade and had the privilege to be taught and mentored by great teachers such as Mr.Charles Harden, Mrs.Linda Daye, and my favorite Mrs. Pamela BoBo. Although structurally it had some of the problems of Syphax,Anthony Bowen was fortunate to have some of the greatest teachers I probably will ever come across.
The emphasis on learning was always paramount and we were always made aware of being young black and educated. From the way Ms. Bobo and Ms. Daye choreographed our own personal version of our Negro National Anthem lift every voice and sing, even to the way we celebrated Kwanzaa we were always enlighten on our African heritage. And it taught us not only to embrace what we were but to expand who we are. I can honestly say the most enjoyable years of my life has been in this school.
In 2009 due to budget cuts ,government mismanagement, the gentrification due to the Nationals Stadium and people not caring Anthony Bowen was put on a list of 40 schools in the DC area to be closed. At the very time I have been working for 3 years for the Lerner corporation the company that owns the Washington Nationals and a local mall called White Flint and local apartment buildings. While on assignment from my job I was sent to Nationals Stadium to deliver wheelchairs.
When I arrived I met with one of the building manager and he asked me had I ever seen the new stadium,I told him no but I was from the area . To my surprise this white man looking me dead in my face with a smile on his face said ” you’re not even going to recognize this place in a few years”. Basically letting me know that gentrification was beginning, I was so angry when I left that I stopped at Anthony Bowen and I visited Mrs.Carpenter an old teacher that we had when we were kids. She explained to me that they were closing the school down by orders of Mayor Williams and Fenty opening up a police station because a new baseball stadium was being built up the street.
I was actually working for the people who were trying to tear down my neighborhood without any clue what Anthony Bowen meant to so many people.
Which brings me to Amidon Elementary. Amidon of all elementary schools in southwest was the most prestigious. Unlike most housing developments and projects in Washington DC, James Creek was a mixture of low income housing, elderly housing ,and military Housing. Because it was in close proximity to the Washington Navy Yard and also near Fort McNair affluent communities like the channel square region of Southwest had a plethora of middle class and upper class blacks.
Because of this diverse community and because military members who were stationed there Amidon became the school of preference for those lucky enough to have the right address. Amidon Elementary (now called Amidon-Bowen which is like saying The Cowboy-Redskins) sits at 401 I Street SW, right before the entrance to Capitol Hill. It served as the pinnacle of elementary education for over 40 years in SW. Despite Bowen being a low income school, some of our best and brightest far surpassed their best and brightest. But if any of our best and brightest attempted to go to Amidon we were harshly met with the fact that we lived too far even though all three schools are in 10 minutes of each other walking.
I could distinctly remember on three occasions my father attempting to enroll me in Amidon because my grades were very good but he was denied stating I lived out of the zone, even though I had a cousin who attended Amidon who did not have the grades that I had. Even though that same year six other students along with myself were offered full scholarships to private school in Virginia, which we all declined I still was considered an undesirable in a school in my neighborhood. Of all the schools this is the only one left open. And although they inquired the name Bowen into Amidon ,will they teach the history of Anthony Bowen?
Not only who he was but the story of his kids and if not then we his kids must teach our kids about our neighborhood and our schools and the history behind it. Because soon you won’t recognize it.
Staff Writer; LeVar Smith
