Charles William “C.W.” Hargrave. Courtesy of the Hargrave family
by Jackie L. Williams, Ph.D.
In summer 2024, Southwest lost a beloved neighbor and community leader in Charles William “C.W.” Hargrave, who passed away peacefully at the remarkable age of 95 years old. Along with his wife of 55 years, Lona “Nona” Lear Taylor Hargrave, C.W. called this neighborhood home and made a commitment to serve the beloved and wider communities.
A native of Dandridge, Tennessee, C.W. arrived in the “new” Southwest DC during the early 1960s. He witnessed the transition of the Southwest landscape from a faith-based perspective, in terms of the change in the diversity of the Westminster congregation, as a result of the community and economic development phases of urban renewal.
An elder of Westminster DC, he served under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Jeanne Mackenzie, the first woman appointed as a Pastor in the presbytery. During her tenure, she led the AIDS ministry during the 1980s, creating a welcome table for individuals and communities that were impacted by HIV/AIDS by fostering a diverse and inclusive congregation. With the foresight of C.W., along with other elders who supported Rev. Mackenzie, Westminster became the first church in DC to embrace the LGBTQ community.
C.W.’s dedication to serve the beloved community continued at Westminster DC under the leadership of the current Reverends Brian and Ruth Hamilton, including supporting the launch of Jazz Night in DC.
“C.W. recalled the Westminster DC site that was originally located at 7th and D streets before its current location at 4th and I Streets Southwest,” said Rev. Brian Hamilton. He added that “during the 1980s, C.W. advocated for ensuring that the presbytery focused on a representation of ethnicity inclusion and equity for women, especially the difficulty of women’s pastoral call.”
As an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) and a board member of the Friends of Southwest, C.W. helped shape public policy and community outreach as an affordable housing advocate to support the residents in DC’s smallest quadrant. He called Capitol Park home. This DC historic housing community dates to the 1950’s and 60’s urban renewal plan and is the first and largest residential complex in the Southwest neighborhood.
Gottlieb Simon, a longtime Southwest resident who served more than two decades as the director of the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and executive director of the Southwest ANC from 1976 to 2001, recalled working alongside and supporting C.W.’s dedication and vision for his beloved Southwest community.
“C.W.’s leadership as a five-term member and treasurer of the Southwest ANC has had a long-term impact on the betterment of Southwest,” said Simon. He further shared that C.W.’s “ major focus was on ensuring that the Southwest urban renewal plan was implemented according to the guidelines.”
During C.W.’s tenure as a commissioner, his major community and economic development accomplishments include leading the efforts in institutionalizing the Southwest urban renewal plan’s opportunities and requirements in three ways – job creation, entrepreneurship, and zoning. First, he worked to ensure jobs were prioritized for Southwest residents during the pre- and post-construction phases of the housing and commercial developments, as well as infrastructure improvements. Second, he advocated for entrepreneurs to support small business development. C.W. cited challenges working with DC government officials regarding resources, encouraged community leaders to disseminate information, and helped to secure small business start-up capital. Third, he worked to address the impact of the change in the Southwest Urban Redevelopment Plan (SWURP) zoning policy.
According to Simon, zoning under the plan offered special rules that allowed for the creation of “super blocks.” In applying the rules, the street grid infrastructure was redesigned to include multiple blocks to support the quadrant’s development. However, when the SWURP expired, there was a challenge regarding how to fit those blocks back into traditional zoning rules. He pointed out that C.W. played a major role in the rezoning process to protect the integrity of connecting the “new” Southwest urban renewal development to the other DC quadrants.
An advocate for higher education, C.W. was an active member of the Commissioner of the National Capital Presbytery’s Committee on Higher Education. An alumnus of Johnson C. Smith University (founded as Freedmen’s College of North Carolina), an HBCU, his life values embodied the institution’s motto of “let there be light.” He demonstrated this motto through his calling to serve others as a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Rho Chapter) for 75 years. He also served as president of his alma mater’s DC alumni chapter and first vice president, treasurer, and chaplain of the national alumni association.
C.W. humbly served the presbytery, as well as the nation as a military Captain and federal public servant, and the community an area representative for the DC Board of Election. Join the Southwest DC community in saluting, celebrating, and remembering a legend, friend, and his legacy – Charles William “C.W.” Hargrave.