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MONIQUE JOHNSON ANACOSTIA RIVER CENTER

REMEMBERING MONIQUE JOHNSON
1969-1992

In Honor of Monique Johnson
Founding Earth Conservation Corps Member

A bright young leader who made a visible difference in her community, Monique Johnson dedicated herself to creating positive change and inspiring those around her. She was tragically murdered in 1992, but her impact continues to be felt.

The Earth Conservation Corps honors her memory by carrying her name forward through the Monique Johnson Education Center—a place where young people can learn, serve, lead, and make a visible difference in their own communities.

Her light lives on through the generations she inspires.

CAPITOL PUMPHOUSE HISTORY

The historic Capitol Pump House, built in 1906, is our flagship community headquarters. The building once pumped water from the Anacostia River to the U.S. Capitol for use in steam heating. This practice continued until the 1950s, when increasing river pollution made the water unsuitable for this purpose. In 1994, Mayor Marion Barry granted the Earth Conservation Corps the right to try to save the abandoned U.S. Capitol Pump House that was close to collapsing into the Anacostia River. By clearing a "Riverwalk " through a garbage dump the Corps created the first public access to the west bank of the river between the South Capitol and Benning Road bridges. The goal was to create a beachhead, a community gathering place for environmental education, and place-based river restoration. Today the Center is named for murdered founding corps member Monique Johnson. The Monique Johnson Anacostia River Center remains a lighthouse for active conservation.

The Monique Johnson Anacostia River Center is home to our Youth Media Arts Program & Anacostia Raptor Watch.

THE BEGINNING OF MONIQUE JOHNSON RIVER CENTER

Spurred by a partnership with PEPCO, a 20-year lease from the Department of the Interior, and a $600,000 Department of Housing Brownfields Redevelopment Grant, Earth Conservation Corps converted the abandoned lead filled PEPCO Pumphouse on Buzzard Point into the center of community enterprise, environmental restoration and community development now known as the Monique Johnson Anacostia River Center. Development included the reclamation of the 1 ½ acre site into a public park and completion of the first demonstration segment of the Anacostia River Walk.