Aunt Helen's Eyes On The Street

Anacostia Unmapped

Over the last five months, as part of the Anacostia Unmapped project, three people in the Southeast D.C. neighborhood have been recording interviews with their neighbors. It’s a place where families can often trace their roots back several generations to a single block or house. In this installment, poet and playwright John Johnson visits LaTeashea Lofties, a friend whose family has a long history in Anacostia. We find out about her Aunt Helen, who sat in the window all day "watching everything and everybody. And I when I say everybody, I mean you could not hook school. You couldn’t have boys over. Because she would tell. She had everybody’s numbers on a pad and she’d use that rotary phone.”