Pearl B. Settles: Ward 7’s Queen of ‘The Hill’

February 9, 2026

This article commemorates the 40th anniversary of Pearl B. Settles' death, a Ward 7 civic leader who fostered a clean, crime-free community in Washington D.C.'s Stoddert Terrace public housing development during the 1970s and 1980s. Her legacy lives on through her daughter Karen Settles and community members who continue her work, particularly as the ceremonial naming of Pearl B.

Who is affected

Karen Settles (daughter of Pearl B. Settles, former advisory neighborhood commissioner, longtime Stoddert Terrace resident)
The Settles family (Pearl's 11 children and descendants, including grandson Noah "No Savage" Settles)
Residents of Stoddert Terrace public housing community ("The Hill")
Residents of 13 other D.C. public housing communities facing redevelopment
Rev. Kenneth Mackie Sr. (former youth program participant, now ministerial staff member)
Pastor John Davis (returning citizen and friend of the Settles family)
D.C. jail residents receiving anger management training
Substance users in the community
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7F members
D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA) officials and board members

What action is being taken

Pastor John Davis is making visits to D.C. Department of Corrections three times a week, providing anger management training and life coaching to jail residents
Davis is working to ensure substance users can access Narcan
Karen Settles and other community members are demanding that residents be at the table when DCHA and other parties make redevelopment decisions

Why it matters

This matters because it highlights the ongoing struggle for dignity, representation, and resources in public housing communities that are often stigmatized and marginalized. Pearl B. Settles' legacy demonstrates how grassroots leadership can unite communities across generations, provide opportunities for youth, and create pathways to success for residents facing systemic barriers. The article underscores the importance of resident-led decision-making in public housing redevelopment, challenges negative stereotypes about public housing communities, and illustrates how historical community organizing models can address contemporary crises like gun violence and the opioid epidemic. The physical fence separating public housing from private property serves as a powerful metaphor for the social and economic divisions that persist in urban communities.

What's next

Karen Settles implores District leaders to remove the fence separating one side of 37th Place from the other (the private side from public housing), stating "There's too much pain involved in that fence."

Read full article from source: The Washington Informer