Adams Morgan Organization

A button labeled "AMO Power," created by the Adams Morgan Organization

The Adams Morgan Organization (AMO) was a neighborhood community group based in Adams Morgan, Washington, DC. AMO was founded in the 1972 and its slogan was "Unity in Diversity." ^[1] In 1976, after a spate of evictions, AMO helped create a community land trust along with tenant organizations in the area. ^[2] AMO organized against harmful urban renewal projects and real-estate speculation in DC. ^{[3] [4]} In 1974, AMO also helped the neighborhood reclaim derelict land as "Community Park West," which is now named after AMO organizer Walter Peirce. ^{[5] [6] [1] [7]}

AMO was part of a movement toward hyperlocal neighborhood government, especially in DC where this movement was institutionalized in the system of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners after the passage of the DC Home Rule Act. ^[8]

Further Reading

• "The Adams Morgan Organization and Black Power in D.C. (1972 – Present) By Marie Nahikian". Black Power Chronicles. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
• Lloyd, James M. (1 November 2016). "Fighting Redlining and Gentrification in Washington, D.C.: The Adams-Morgan Organization and Tenant Right to Purchase". Journal of Urban History. 42 (6): 1091–1109. doi:10.1177/0096144214566975. ISSN   0096-1442.
• Kumfer, Timothy (20 November 2023). ""Who's Going to Own Adams Morgan?" The Battle Against "Reverse Blockbusting" in 1970s Washington, DC". The Metropole. Retrieved 21 January 2026.

See also

• Crown Heights Tenant Union
• District of Columbia statehood movement
• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

References

1. Huron, Amanda; Shia, Nancy (2021). "Caring in Public: The Struggle for Community Park West". Washington History. 33 (1): 26–35. ISSN   1042-9719.
2. Huron, Amanda (2014). "Creating a Commons in the Capital: The Emergence of Limited-Equity Housing Cooperatives in Washington, D.C." Washington History. 26 (2): 56–67. ISSN   1042-9719.
3. Asch, Chris Myers; Musgrove, George Derek. "The narrative of D.C.'s decline after the riots ignores the vitality and vibrancy of the post-1968 city". Washington Post Blog. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
4. Sauve, Frances (26 January 1978). "Assembly". The Washington Post.
5. "Walter Pierce Park Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
6. Gately, Blair (23 March 1978). "The 14-Year Battle for a Park in Adams Morgan". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
7. Mack, Mark; Belcher, Mary (May 2013). The Archaeological Investigation of Walter C. Pierce Community Park and Vicinity, 2005-2012 . Retrieved 20 January 2026.
8. Gibson, Josh; Nahikian, Marie (23 March 2020). "A Minnesota congressman is one reason we have ANCs. But the true inspiration was the spirited tradition of activism of Adams Morgan". The DC Line. Retrieved 20 January 2026.