Washington, DC: Barry Farm Dwellings

Barry Farm Dwellings is a 442-unit public housing complex of five rows of duplex dwelling units.

The District of Columbia Housing Authority

Quick Facts

Location:

Washington, District of Columbia

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

The District of Columbia Housing Authority

The Barry Farm community became a hub for civil rights activism in the 1950s-60s. Organizing by Barry Farm residents led to Bolling v. Sharpe, a companion case to Brown v. Board of Education that required the desegregation of Washington, D.C. public schools. Barry Farm residents Etta Horn and Lillian Wright organized a tenants’ council with the support of President Johnson’s War on Poverty program.

In its first victory at Barry Farm, the group secured a $1.5 million renovation of the property. The group formed the nucleus of the Citywide Welfare Alliance (CWA), and Horn helped found the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO), which fought to advance the rights of welfare recipients nationwide. Organizing meetings were held at Horn’s house. Etta Horn also provided guidance to Martin Luther King, Jr. as he planned the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968.