The Power of Storytelling
The latest from Hollywood on the Potomac.
Written by guest contributor Enid Dogget
Washington’s cultural scene took center stage this month as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library launched Freedom & Resistance, a major new exhibition inspired by The 1619 Project, with a dynamic ‘Opening Salon’ that blended art, history and live performance — and drew a packed house of artists, thinkers and community leaders.
Anchoring the evening was Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 Project, who delivered a keynote talk titled “1619 | 1776 & The Idea of America.” Her remarks challenged the audience to reconsider the nation’s founding narrative by centering the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in 1619 as a foundational moment in American history — a reframing that continues to influence education, culture, and public discourse nationwide.
The salon served as both an intellectual convening and a cultural celebration. Guests moved through galleries featuring original artworks commissioned for The 1619 Project: A Visual Experience — powerful visual interpretations by Black artists responding to themes of freedom, resistance, and legacy. Throughout the evening, the library’s floors came alive with spoken word, dance, and live music, including a standout performance by Step Afrika! and a high-energy Go-Go set that underscored the distinctly D.C. spirit of the night.
In keeping with the exhibition’s emphasis on lived experience and intergenerational dialogue, the program also included lightning talks, community storytelling moments, and interactive activations — from reflections on Black entrepreneurship and beauty culture led by A’Lelia Bundles, Madam C.J. Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, to historical conversations rooted in the District’s own past.
Freedom & Resistance is a three-part exhibition on view through March 15, 2026, and it places Washington, D.C. squarely within the broader national narrative explored by The 1619 Project. In addition to the nationally recognized artworks, the exhibition includes “Echoes of 1619: Freedom & Resistance in Washington, D.C.” which traces local histories of slavery, self-liberation, Black life in the capital and “Freedom & Resistance: Through the Eyes of D.C. Youth,” featuring nearly 80 works by District students responding creatively to the exhibition’s themes.
Free and open to the public during regular library hours, the exhibition positions the MLK Library not only as a civic space, but as a cultural hub where history, art, and contemporary dialogue intersect. The Opening Salon set the tone: reflective, celebratory, and unmistakably Washington — a reminder that some of the most important storytelling happening right now isn’t on screen, but right here in the nation’s capital.
