When I learned that the address selected for our new building site would be 1865 Mississippi Avenue in Southeast D.C., it might have seemed like a coincidence. I call it providence.

The year 1865 marks one of the most pivotal moments in American history: the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the 13th Amendment, legally ending slavery in the United States. It was the year when millions of Black Americans transitioned from bondage to the promise of freedom, though that promise would take generations more to begin fulfilling.

Now, 161 years later, as we are settling into our home 1865 Mississippi Avenue, we have not just constructed a building. We are creating a sanctuary where girls can write the next chapters of that ongoing freedom story.

The Washington School for Girls has always understood that education is the cornerstone of liberation. Since our founding, we have been committed to serving girls who have been historically underserved by traditional educational systems. Girls deserve to see themselves reflected in their curriculum, celebrated for their achievements, and supported in their dreams, no matter how ambitious.

As we wrap up Black History Month, the significance of our new address resonates even more deeply. On June 19, 1865 enslaved people in Texas finally learned of their emancipation – known as Juneteenth. It is a reminder that freedom delayed is not freedom denied, but rather freedom that must be actively claimed and continuously fought for.

Our new facility at 1865 Mississippi Avenue houses a state-of-the-art science laboratory where our girls will conduct experiments that could change the world. It features a technology center where they can code the future. It includes an art studio where they will express the fullness of their creativity and cultural heritage. Every classroom, every corridor, every gathering space has been designed with one purpose: to nurture the limitless potential of girls.

This is not accidental. This is intentional.

We see what others refuse to see: a community rich with culture, resilience, and untapped potential. We see grandmothers who have held families together across generations. We see mothers working multiple jobs to ensure their daughters have opportunities they never had. We see girls who carry within them the dreams and aspirations of ancestors who dared to imagine freedom.

At 1865 Mississippi Avenue, we are planting our flag in this community not as saviors, but as partners. We are saying that girls in Southeast D.C. deserve the same caliber of education, resources, and opportunities as their peers in any other part of the city or nation.

The irony is not lost on us that Mississippi Avenue—named for a state that was central to both slavery and the civil rights movement, is home to an institution dedicated to advancing girls. We are reclaiming this space, transforming it from a reminder of oppression into a launching pad for liberation.

As we close out Black History Month, let us remember that freedom is not a destination but a journey. The enslaved people who learned of their emancipation on June 19, 1865, understood that legal freedom was just the beginning. True freedom requires education, economic opportunity, political participation, and the ability to dream without limits.

That work continues today, and it continues through the girls who will walk through the doors at 1865 Mississippi Avenue. They will study the poetry of Maya Angelou and the equations of Katherine Johnson. They will debate the ideas of bell hooks and solve problems using the methodologies of Mae Jemison. They will complete middle school with an unshakeable understanding of their worth, their power, and their responsibility to lift as they climb.

Our commitment to the girls and families of Southeast D.C. extends far beyond these walls. We are investing here because we believe in this community. We are here not for a moment, but for a movement toward educational equity, economic justice, and the full participation of women of color in every sector of society.

The year 1865 represented the legal end of slavery. But at 1865 Mississippi Avenue, we are working toward something even more profound: unlimited possibility for every girl who enters our doors.

Because at 1865 Mississippi Avenue, every day is liberation day.