After Shaw Community Center’s Closure, a Chance for New Programming

September 15, 2026

The Shaw Community Center, a vital youth program based in Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ in Washington D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood, closed last October after more than 30 years of operation due to board leadership conflicts and fundraising difficulties. The center had served predominantly Black youth from the neighborhood with after-school programming, field trips, and activities including coding, art, gardening, and dance, while their working parents were employed. A new organization called The Elephant Free School has now moved into Lincoln Temple and plans to address both the gap left by the community center's closure and the broader displacement of Black residents from Shaw.

Who is affected

Rayne White and her siblings, along with over 120 youth who previously attended Shaw Community Center programs
Working-class Black families in Shaw, particularly those from Lincoln Westmoreland Housing and other affordable housing communities
Immigrant families from Africa and Latin America who participated in center programming
Former Shaw Community Center staff members (more than a dozen employees)
Javon Dabney and other parents who relied on the center for childcare during work hours
Mary Kathryn Sagastume and other contractors/volunteers
Community elders who were previously employed by the center
Long-term Shaw residents facing displacement

What action is being taken

The Elephant Free School is organizing with communities worldwide in the fight for autonomous land control while teaching solidarity economics and collective leadership models
Founder Dominic T. Moulden is collaborating with Ward 6 Mutual Aid/Serve Your City, high school student interns, and the Center for Social Housing and Public Investment
Khadijah Huggins-El is serving as building operations manager, facilitating Lincoln Temple's upkeep and giving walking tours
Will Merrifield and the Center for Social Housing and Public Investment are engaging working-class Black Shaw residents in conversations to create documentation about social housing policy
Grassroots organizations are being given opportunities to apply for grants to conduct programming
The organization is hearing people's experiences and opinions to incorporate into a curriculum for building political will

Why it matters

The closure of Shaw Community Center represents the loss of a critical safe space where Black youth could access free enrichment programming, mentorship, and supervision while their parents worked—services that are increasingly difficult to maintain in a gentrifying neighborhood. The center's financial struggles highlight systemic challenges facing Black-serving community organizations, including over-reliance on foundation funding, barriers to accessing donors due to racial and cultural factors, and pressure to compromise missions to meet funders' requirements. The Elephant Free School's establishment matters because it aims to not only fill the programming gap but also address the root causes of displacement by equipping community members, especially youth, with knowledge about gentrification, housing policy, and organizing tools to resist the forces pushing Black residents out of Shaw. This represents a shift from simply providing services to building long-term political and cultural power within the community.

What's next

The Elephant Free School will host a fall festival on October 10 that marks the launch of its program
The Center for Social Housing and Public Investment aims to create a concrete document defining social housing within one to one-and-a-half years
Programming will be offered including creative writing, yoga, tai chi, capoeira, art, theater, and gardening for working-class Black community members of all ages
The organization plans to conduct fundraisers and give back to the community with programs for children

Read full article from source: The Washington Informer