The Humanities Council Would Like to Thank Our 30th Anniversary Committee:

Yolanda Alcorta
Brenda Atkinson-Willoughby
Joy Ford Austin
Lea-Ann Bigelow
Robert Bremner
Brittnay E. Buckner
William Davis
Norris Dodson & Family
Bradford Grant
VV Harrison
Susie Humpstone
Marlene Hunt Moss
Gregory L. Jefferson, Sr.
Aaron Jenkins
Lynn Jennings
Margot Starr Kernan
Delano Lewis
Esther Mackintosh
Alva Millian
Louisa Newlin
Rohulamin Quander
David Rowland
Marianne Scott
Marjan Shallal
Christy Wallace
Christine Warnke

Our Honored Partner,
Hogan Lovells LLP

Georgetown University
Verizon
WhitGroup Consulting LLC

(as of September 7, 2010)


For information on our 30th Anniversary events click here

To be a part of our 30th Anniversary Committee, please contact Eva Lucero,
Director of Development at 202.387.8391 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Your Support Transforms Lives!

30 Stories for 30 Years

Neighborhood Griot Honored in New Video

“We’ve come to realize we need to make a whole person before we can make an artist,” says Melvin Deal, Executive Director of the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers. For more than half a century Deal has been connecting Washingtonians with their African heritage through dance, the arts, and even trips to Africa. In order to celebrate its own 30-year legacy, the Humanities Council of Washington DC has made possible a brief documentary film about Deal and his extraordinary legacy.

The brief video will showcase Deal’s many accomplishments, focusing on the countless lives he has transformed, including being there for East of the River residents during trying times in the 1980s. The “dance griot” of DC, Deal has maintained a tradition of storytelling, educating, and teaching culture through African dance and music. He has been declared one of “Washington Living Legends and Cultural Treasures” by the Washington Post. Through intergenerational testimony, interviews with community leaders and government officials, and the words and dance of Deal himself, the documentary film seeks to embrace, promote, and honor Deal’s contributions to help shape and empower DC communities, especially those East of the River.

There was a public showing of the pilot documentary film in June, which was 30 minutes long. For more information, please contact the Ward 7 Arts Collective at (202) 399-1997.

30th Anniversary Special Grants

We want to congratulate all of the 30th Anniversary Special Grant Recipients! We have given out a total of 8 grants in the amount of $5,000 each. Save the date - Tuesday, September 21 our grantees will present their projects at the 30th Anniversary Grantee Showcase.