20th H Street Festival Highlights Black Businesses, D.C. Pride

September 24, 2025

The H Street Festival in Northeast D.C. attracted an estimated 160,000 attendees and featured around 250 vendors, showcasing the area as a cultural hub for creativity and economic development. The 2. 5-mile corridor celebration, which has been running for 20 years, highlighted local Black entrepreneurship, art, food, and cultural performances across more than a dozen stages.

Who is affected

Local Northeast D.C. residents and businesses
Black entrepreneurs and artists who showcase their work at the festival
Approximately 160,000 festival attendees
H Street corridor business owners and vendors (including established businesses like The Daily Rider, Jerk at Nite, Ethio Vegan, and Albert C. Hillman Barber Shop)
DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) natives and performers
African American communities in D.C.
Visitors from around the region

What action is being taken

H Street Main Street is organizing and expanding the annual H Street Festival
Local businesses are participating as vendors and experiencing increased foot traffic and revenue
Musicians and performers are providing live entertainment across more than a dozen stages
The National Guard is currently patrolling throughout the District
Entrepreneurs are using the festival to showcase their businesses and potentially establish brick-and-mortar locations
Community members are actively working to change negative narratives about predominantly African American neighborhoods

Why it matters

The festival provides economic opportunity for local businesses and entrepreneurs, with some vendors eventually developing into full-scale brick-and-mortar establishments on H Street
It creates unity and community in a city facing challenges with gun violence (where 73% of homicides are gun-related, according to a 2023 Alliance for Gun Violence Fact Sheet)
The event celebrates and preserves the cultural heritage of a historically Black neighborhood that overcame economic dormancy following the 1968 uprisings
It showcases positive aspects of the predominantly African American community, countering negative stereotypes
The festival represents economic strengthening for African Americans, which Anwar Saleem identifies as crucial for success in society

What's next

Anwar Saleem plans to make the H Street Festival "bigger and better year after year"
The executive director is working on ways to elevate the festival while ensuring economic mobility thrives
Saleem believes the H Street Festival model "can be duplicated throughout the city, if we do it right"
Unifest is expected to make a comeback next month

Read full article from source: The Washington Informer