Welcome! You’ve Arrived in…
Chocolate City
Washington, DC
Every journey begins at home. Welcome to Chocolate City—where Black culture, creativity, power and rhythm have long shaped the nation’s capital.
The Birthplace of Go-Go
THE CONNECTION
Why This Stop Matters
DIASPORIC THREAD
A gathering place for Black people, ideas and movements, D.C. has long connected communities across the African Diaspora.
CULTURAL SIGNATURE
Chocolate City is more than the nation’s capital. Black culture shaped its neighborhoods, institutions, art, language and identity.
HOW IT MOVES
D.C. moves to Go-Go – percussion, call-and-response and an unbroken groove where the crowd becomes part of the music.
LEGACY & INFLUENCE
From Duke Ellington and Marvin Gaye to Go-Go and Black Broadway, D.C.’s homegrown culture has traveled far beyond the District.
While You’re Here
National Museum of African American History & Culture
Explore the stories, struggles, creativity and contributions that have shaped the Black American experience.
Howard University
Walk the grounds of one of the nation’s most influential HBCUs and a cornerstone of Black intellectual and cultural life. (It is also my alma mater)
U Street Corridor
Experience the historic corridor where Black music, nightlife, business and culture once made D.C. swing.
Anacostia
Discover one of D.C.’s oldest Black communities, rich with history, art and neighborhood culture.
Taste of DC
HALF-SMOKE
A D.C. original.
MAMBO SAUCE
Sweet, tangy, sticky and unmistakably local.
SOUL FOOD
The city’s Black culinary story runs through generations of neighborhood restaurants, carryouts and gathering places.
Signature Vibe
The Go-Go Swing
The beat doesn’t stop.
Born in Washington’s Black communities, Go-Go layers percussion, funk, soul and call-and-response into a live musical experience where the audience is part of the performance. Chuck Brown pioneered the sound that became inseparable from D.C.’s cultural identity.
Speak Like the City
Murrion Burry
The DC Dialect is known for replacing certain vowels and consonants with “UR.”
If you grew up in the DC area during the years of Mayor Murrion Burry (Marion Barry) you know exactly what I mean.
Let the Music Play
SOUND OF THE CITY
“Welcome to DC”
by Mambo Sauce (2007/released 2008)
There are plenty of Go-Go songs I could have chosen, but we’re beginning this journey at home. What better welcome than “Welcome to D.C.” – from a band whose very name gives you another taste of Chocolate City?
Meet me at the curryout (carryout) for some
chicken wings & mambo sauce!
Continue the Journey
ONE STOP DOWN. THE DIASPORA AWAITS.
Your destination is only one stop on the journey. Keep exploring the places, rhythms, flavors and stories that connect us across the Diaspora.
Wheels Up! On to the next stop…
