An archeology of segregation after the unification of Methodism in Washington, D.C.

Summary

Emory Church in Northwest Washington, D.C. hosts a Pan-African Methodist congregation, but historically Emory Church was aligned with Southern Methodism, and had a segregated White congregation until the beginning of the 1960s. Soon after the integration of the church, the last White pastor departed as did the remaining White members of the congregation, leaving the church to a small community of worshipers in 1968. Archeological mitigation undertaken in 2016 as part of the redevelopment of the property to match an expanded mission uncovered the cellar of a parsonage on the property, which served during the first half of the twentieth century. The parsonage was demolished in 1950, at the cusp of the church’s integration, and yielded a diverse assemblage of household and structural artifacts. This paper explores potential connections between the materiality of the parsonage dwelling, the necessity for its demolition, and the manifest social conservatism of the segregated church.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Excavating reaction and regression: American conservatism in Material perspective   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 667