A reminder of Route 1’s segregated past has been replaced by a powerful and inspirational symbol of racial reconciliation.

Over the weekend, the towns of Brentwood, which was historically white, and North Brentwood, founded by Black Civil War veterans and the county’s first incorporated African American town, unveiled a new sculpture to replace the Windom Road segregation barrier that long separated the two towns.

The memorial sculpture stands in what is now the Windom Road Historic Barrier Park, which is closed to traffic.

Made of epoxy foam and steel, the sculpture shows two hands coming together to lift the original metal highway barrier, which is incorporated into the work of art.

Route 1 artist Nehemiah Dixon III, senior director of programs and community engagement at the Phillips Collection, a modern art museum in D.C., originally proposed the design after an open submission process.

He then brought on Wesley Clark, a Lewisdale artist and sculptor who has a studio in College Park and has worked on a number of public art projects to help with sculpting the structure.

The Neighborhood Design Center worked with community leaders from both Brentwood and North Brentwood on the project as well.

Two other pieces of the barrier will be housed at the Brentwood Volunteer Fire Department and in North Brentwood.

The plan for the park and a sculpture to replace the barrier took seven years and more design phases of the park remain.

But the metal barrier — which was first installed after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954 and remained up until recently as a forgotten piece of history — is no more.

Learn more about the park and sculpture here.

To read more about the history of the Windom Road racial barrier, click here.

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A new shop in Mount Rainier selling Oriental rugs is run by a former political science professor from Afghanistan.

When he lived in Kabul, Jawid Jawid worked at a private university teaching Afghan political science, but he had to leave that job behind a few years ago when he fled with his family to the United States after the government collapsed.

Once he settled in Virginia, he started working with an Oriental rug company, where he realized that his knowledge of handmade Afghan rugs could be put to use.

After running his own shop in Alexandria, where he said the market became flooded with similar rug shops, he moved it to Mount Rainier because the rent in D.C. was too high. America Oriental Rugs is located at 3201 Rhode Island Ave., in the block of buildings that includes Pan Lourdes Bakery.

Jawid sells and repairs rugs from Afghanistan, India, Turkey, and Iran, which are made by hand, not machine, using traditional methods. He even sells antique Persian rugs dating back to as late as the 1960s. The average room-sized rug might take six months to complete, while even a two-by-three-foot rug could take a month.

His Persian rugs are hard to get because of the economic sanctions on Iran. Some are from inventory brought to the U.S. before the latest embargo, while others are used rugs from Iranian families that have been refurbished. He also has 100% silk rugs made with a Persian design in Kashmir, India.

Jawid still uses his background in political science, talking with reporters about the situation in Afghanistan from time to time, but he says that he cannot return to the country now because of his work as a political scientist.

America Oriental Rugs is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays.

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An event to allow swimming in the Anacostia River was postponed again after water quality tests failed.

After being postponed due to water quality issues related to rainfall, the Anacostia Riverkeeper’s first-ever Splash! event would have been Saturday at the Kingman Island Dock near the National Arboretum.

But it was postponed again this morning when samples came back with too high levels of E. coli. The event is now slated for Saturday, July 13.

Swimming has been illegal in the river since 1971 due to pollution, but infrastructure improvements and other efforts have improved water quality enough that D.C. is allowing the sanctioned swim.

The river passed water quality tests on Wednesday, and it hasn’t rained since then, so the event is going ahead today.

A small number of preregistered guests over the age of 18 will be allowed to jump in the water for 20-minute time slots.

The city has been slowly moving to improve water quality in the Anacostia since the 1970s, with lawsuits against chemical manufacturers and agricultural companies and the new Anacostia River Tunnel, which directs sewage overflow to a wastewater treatment plant.

The Anacostia Watershed Society has also long promoted an effort to make the river swimmable and fishable by 2025.

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The towns of Brentwood and North Brentwood will replace an ugly symbol of segregation with art dedicated to racial reconciliation.

On Saturday, June 29, the two towns — one founded by Black veterans of the Civil War, one historically white — will unveil a sculpture to replace the highway segregation barrier that long separated them on Windom Road.

“Growing up in North Brentwood, I know the offense schoolchildren and families have felt with having to cross this barricade to walk to school,” said North Brentwood Mayor Petrella Robinson, who is Black. “We honor the residents who fought against this blatant discrimination, and we pave the path for unity and equity.”

Erected in 1957 in response to the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the barrier was one of a number of “segregation walls” or “race walls” built during segregation in cities such as Miami, Detroit, Atlanta and Fort Worth. It was featured in historian James Loewen’s book “Sundown Towns,” named for the fact that Black residents were at risk of violence after sunset if they crossed these barriers.

The two towns decided several years ago to finally tear down the barrier, working together to hire the artists Nehemiah Dixon III and Wesley Clark to build a memorial sculpture inside of a new town park on Windom Road.

“This is the culmination of the deep partnership between the towns and proof of what happens when communities fight racism together,” said Brentwood Mayor Rocio Treminio-Lopez. “As an immigrant who grew up in this community, today’s unveiling cements a commitment to pave the way for a future of inclusion and rights for anyone who lives here.”

The sculpture will be unveiled at a town event from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the new Windom Road Historic Barrier Park.

You can read more about the history of the Brentwood Windom Rd segregation barrier here.

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A popular Mexican taqueria in Mount Rainier has opened a stall at Le Fantome food hall in Riverdale Park.

With two locations at 3237 Rhode Island Ave. in Mount Rainier and the Brightwood neighborhood in D.C., J&J Mex-Taqueria added a third at the Riverdale Park food hall across from MOD Pizza at Riverdale Park Station earlier this month.

The restaurant was started in 2015 by Jose “Papa” Tovar and Jose Tovar Ibarra, a father and son originally from San Luis Potosí in central Mexico.

The extensive menu includes 12 types of tacos, including trendy birria tacos made with slow-cooked beef stew, burritos, enchiladas, tortas, carne asada, and fajitas. There are also a number of breakfast items, including huevos rancheros, a breakfast quesadilla, and machaca, a dish made with shredded beef and eggs.

J&J is also moving into the Commas food hall, which is planned for downtown Silver Spring.

You can order online from J&J at Le Fantome here.

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DC-owned dessert stop Ice Cream Jubilee is coming to College Park.

Located at 4430 Calvert Rd., near Trader Joe’s, the shop will serve small batch ice cream with seasonally rotating flavors, many of which are Asian-inspired.

The shop started in 2014 when owner Victoria Lai quit her job as a lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security. In 2022, Food & Wine magazine named it the 24th best ice cream shop in the U.S.

Ice Cream Jubilee offers standards such as vanilla, cookie dough, salted caramel and marionberry, along with a seasonal flavors such as Thai Iced Tea and Cherry Blossom Cheesecake.

It’s now expanding around the D.C. area, including locations in Georgetown, Ballston and Navy Yard and upcoming locations in Reston, Tenleytown and West Falls Church.

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For Paul Hrusa, the large blocks of foam left after you remove a package from a box have their own value.

The Hyattsville artist began using foam core to make sculptures in high school before studying how to use marble, clay, and bondo in college.

However, a few years ago, he returned to the medium after experimenting with using objects found in his studio.

In May, Hrusa even held an exhibition of his found-art sculptures at Streetcar 82 Brewing Co. in Hyattsville with help from the Creative Supply Social Club, a local arts advocacy group.

Because the packaging foam sculptures tend to be large, Hrusa said Streetcar 82’s outdoor area was one of the few places it could all be displayed.

Hrusa, who moved to Hyattsville in 2007, said he’s found the local art scene “talented, optimistic, and resilient,” but he wishes it were more supportive of fine and experimental art.

When he needs supplies he heads to Artist & Craftsman Supply, Community Forklift and local hardware stores. But when it’s time to find new material for his art?

“Anyplace there is a recycling bin,” he said.

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