Watch a wonderful piece of Petworth-area family history on PBS with Linda & Eric White
/PBS host Matt Paxton speaks with Linda Crichlow White and her husband Eric White. (screen capture of PBS Legacy List)
by Cesse Ip
Petworth native, Linda Crichlow White and her husband Eric White, were featured on PBS’s Legacy List on January 11th. Linda and Eric had lived in their six-bedroom house in 16th Street Heights on the 1600 block of Nicholson Street NW for 28 years and were getting ready to downsize. Through mutual friends and acquaintances, she connected with the PBS show Legacy List, a show about the hidden treasures and heirlooms found while families downsize across America, and they were seeking to feature more black families on the show.
Among the heirlooms discovered in the White’s home was an old Rolleiflex camera, a Samurai sword, a bracelet that Linda’s grandmother is seen wearing in a photo showcasing four generations of women in her family, and a deed to her Great Aunt’s house on Manor Place NW.
Discussing Eric’s family’s Rolleiflex camera (screen capture of PBS Legacy List)
The deed issued in 1945 clearly has the infamous racial covenant in it, which states that “…said land shall never be rented, leased, sold, transferred or conveyed unto any negro or colored person.” The show features Mara Cherkasky, a historian from Prologue DC who gives a little bit of background on racial covenants in DC. According to Mara, a lot of covenants got ignored in the 1940s, not because of ethical reasons, but because white people were moving out of the city. It wasn’t until 1968 when the Fair Housing Act was passed that racial covenants became illegal.
Linda and Eric are both librarians. Linda retired from Montgomery County Public Schools as a School Library Media Specialist, and Eric works as an adult services librarian for the Washington, DC Public Library.
Linda Crichlow White and her husband Eric White (screen capture of PBS Legacy List)
While Linda and Eric met in New York, they eventually moved back to Linda’s hometown of DC. Linda grew up on the 500 block of Randolph Street NW, and attended Petworth Elementary School (now an MPD building at 8th and Shepherd Streets NW), McFarland Junior High, and later Roosevelt High School.
Before Eric and Linda bought their house on Nicholson Street, they lived on the 1300 block of Madison St NW. Linda really knows the Petworth area extremely well, and has been involved in the Petworth History Tent at the Celebrate Petworth Festival several years in a row. In fact, Linda and her mother published a memoir titled, “Back There, Then.” (You can also find it at the Petworth Library.)
Host Matt Paxton speaks with Linda Crichlow White about some of the many pieces of art in her home. (screen capture of PBS Legacy List)
The show features Linda and Eric’s family histories and includes bit about the Civil War and the role of African Americans in fighting for the United States. You can watch the show on PBS’s website or below.
It’s a wonderful episode about a lovely family, and we highly recommend watching it!
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