Dressing D.C.: Introducing the Black Clothing Makers Project

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

In the summer of 2025, I worked as an intern the Costume and Textiles Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. My job was to develop and start working on a project about Black clothing makers in the Washington, D.C. area. I also got to work with the blog team to write a post introducing the project. I can’t wait to see where future researchers take it!

Boundary Stones

All you ever wanted to know about Washington, D.C. history! Boundary Stones tells the stories you’ve heard and the ones you haven’t about the Federal City. You can find my articles at the link above. Read about Ona Judge and Hercules Posey, people enslaved by George Washington; Mary Surratt, the only woman hanged for Abraham Lincoln’s assassination; and Thomas Smallwood, the shoemaker who helped hundreds of enslaved people escape to the north.