Unbeknownst to many, integration in Washington, D.C. actually took a big step backward when the District Code was written in 1890. Prior to the issuance of the code, local integration laws required restaurant proprietors “to serve any well-behaved person regardless of color,” or face a steep fine and forfeiture of their license. Enter Mary Church Terrell. Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1863, she graduated from Oberlin and was one of the first Black women to earn a college degree, and in 1888, she became one of the first two Black…
