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For general questions about reservations or event details, please contact the DC Public Library location you are planning to visit. For those in need of disability services related to event registration or room reservation, please reach out to the Center for Accessibility at 202-727-2142 or DCPLaccess@dc.gov. |
Learn about the historic Cloud Club and the Columbia Air Center, the first licensed Black-owned and operated airport in the United States located right here in the DMV.
In 1940, segregation at local airports prevented African Americans from flying. So, a group of Black aviators, including renowned Tuskegee Airmen, formed the Cloud Club and found land in Croom, Maryland to establish an airport, the first licensed Black-owned and operated airport in the United States. It operated from 1940–1962. Historian, Herbert Jones III, tells the story of the airport, its founders and its impact on the local African American Community.
Herbert H. Jones III was born December 22,1 955 to the late Dorothy Rowe Jones and Herbert H. Jones Jr. at Freedmens Hospital in Washington, DC. Graduated from McKinley Tech and Howard University School of Business and Public Administration with a BS Degree in 1982. Herbert spent his childhood at the airport at Croom where his father, Herbert Jones, Jr., was not only the airport’s manager but also established the first black-owned airline, International Air Association.
The Negro Motorist Green Book, an exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor, offers an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class and evidence of a vibrant business class.
The companion exhibition, The Green Book in D.C.: “A Particular Place for Particular People,” was produced by DC Public Library to complement the national, traveling exhibition by taking a deep dive into the stories of the more than 150 businesses and organizations right here in the District that were featured in The Green Book. A capsule version of this local history exhibit will be available at eight neighborhood libraries around D.C.
You can visit the exhibit at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library now through Mar. 2, 2025. Click the link above to learn more and plan your visit to the exhibition.
This Arts & Exhibits program is made possible by The DC Public Library Foundation. The DC Public Library Foundation partners with the DC Public Library to enhance Washington, D.C.’s public libraries, bringing private philanthropy together with government support to ensure that our libraries deliver the highest quality of service to the District’s residents. With the help of many generous people, the Foundation provides educational programs for children and youth, workforce development training, cultural events, and collection enhancements for D.C.’s libraries.
For reasonable accommodations, please contact the Center for Accessibility at 202-727-2142 or DCPLaccess@dc.gov. Please allow at least seven (7) days notice for ASL or tactile interpretation.
