{"id":15251969,"date":"2026-08-12T16:02:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T20:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/inside-the-true-reformer-building-dcs-hidden-historic-gem\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T16:34:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T20:34:26","slug":"inside-the-true-reformer-building-dcs-hidden-historic-gem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/inside-the-true-reformer-building-dcs-hidden-historic-gem\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the True Reformer Building, DC\u2019s Hidden Historic Gem"},"content":{"rendered":"

DC’s True Reformer Building, at the corner of 12th and U streets, may be better known for its exterior; many Washingtonians may have seen its Duke Ellington mural, complete with piano keys and a gold frame, on one side of the red-brick edifice. Yet, many do not know about the 123-year old history that lies within its walls. <\/span><\/p>\n

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A mural by DC artist Kaliq Crosby is at the entrance of the True Reformer Building. Photo by Amanda Archibald. Courtesy of Public Welfare Foundation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Candice C. Jones is president and CEO of Public Welfare Foundation, the organization that manages the True Reformer Building. While giving tours to visitors, she often hears them say that they’d walked by the building \u201ca million times,\u201d but didn’t know anything about it. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cIt breaks my heart every time, because this is such an important piece of Washington history,\u201d she tells Washingtonian, <\/em>adding that if Black Washingtonians were aware of its past, it would make them \u201cstand just a few inches taller.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Built in 1903 as a cornerstone of U Street’s former \u201cBlack Broadway,\u201d the True Reformer Building is the first Black-owned, constructed, and financed building in post-Reconstruction America. It was designed by John Anderson Lankford, the city’s first registered African-American architect. The True Reformers, a mutual aid society made up of Black members in the early 20th century, acted as a financial supporter of Black entrepreneurship, culture, community organizing, and civic life in DC during the Jim Crow era. There\u2019s even history behind the mural: legendary musician Duke Ellington, who grew up in a house around the corner, performed some of his earliest concerts in the auditorium. Singer and actress Pearl Bailey, who coined the term \u201cBlack Broadway,\u201d also performed there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The True Reformer Hall is just one of the spaces in the building that displays works by Black artists. Photo by Amanda Archibald, courtesy of Public Welfare Foundation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The work of the True Reformers, Jones says, continues in a way, through the organizations that use the building over a century later. Some of its notable tenants now include the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, DC Justice Lab, and National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones says that the building welcomes nonprofit organizations, community leaders, artists, and advocates who support the DC community, allowing them to use their meeting spaces for free. In June, it hosted over 80 events by 16 different organizations, a spokesperson tells Washingtonian.<\/em><\/p>\n

While the building is not generally open to the public, it often hosts public events. Inside, there are five floors of art by Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists, including murals by Kaliq Crosby, a native Washingtonian and Maryland Institute College of Art alumni, and Samsins, a Nigerian American artist in Maryland. There\u2019s also a reading room and a library.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Lankford auditorium is one of the several meeting spaces. Photo by Amanda Archibald, courtesy of Public Welfare Foundation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, a DC nonprofit that works with formerly incarcerated youth and adults, uses the True Reformer Building for its welcome home ceremonies. Tara Libert, cofounder and executive director of the organization, says the building\u2019s warm and welcoming atmosphere is a \u201ctotal antidote\u201d that helps counteract the harsh and cold experiences their members had in prison.\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span> \u201cThe energy of the place is so inspirational and powerful, so we\u2019re very intentional about picking that place for the welcome home gathering,\u201d Libert says. \u201cIt\u2019s a way of us reclaiming space and presence.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

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“The energy of the place is so inspirational and powerful,” Tara Libert says. Photo by Amanda Archibald, courtesy of Public Welfare Foundation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jones says that as many Black Americans and Washingtonians face rampant gentrification and erasure of Black history, continuing the work and building community relationships is important. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThey always say \u2018history will be told by the victors.’ Who gets to decide what things we celebrate, and what moments are marked and honored? Somebody is making that choice,\u201d Jones says. <\/span>\u201cAt this moment in history, even more than others, we need to continue to tell those stories and hold that up. We need to tell them because of what they represent for DC history, and American history. A story of truth, resistance, and resilience.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Inside the True Reformer Building, DC\u2019s Hidden Historic Gem<\/a> first appeared on Washingtonian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: News \u2013 World \u2013 Washington DC \u2013 rss.app1 \u2192 manual entry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DC’s True Reformer Building, at the corner of 12th and U streets, may be better known for its exterior; many Washingtonians may have seen its Duke Ellington mural, complete with piano keys and a gold frame, on one side of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15251972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15251969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-dc"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-scaled.webp",2048,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-300x375.webp",300,375,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-620x775.webp",620,775,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-768x960.webp",768,960,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-940x1175.webp",940,1175,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-1229x1536.webp",1229,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-1638x2048.webp",1638,2048,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-998x665.webp",998,665,true],"ignition_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-670x446.webp",670,446,true],"ignition_item_lg":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-1340x894.webp",1340,894,true],"ignition_article_media":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-510x510.webp",510,510,true],"ignition_minicart_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-160x160.webp",160,160,true],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-24x24.webp",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-48x48.webp",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15251969-black-futures-mural_kaliq-crosby-300x300.webp",300,300,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"news.iNthacity","author_link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/author\/atombo\/"},"category_info":"Washington DC<\/a>","tag_info":"Washington DC","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15251969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15251969"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15251969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15251971,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15251969\/revisions\/15251971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15251972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15251969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15251969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15251969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}