In a little-noticed development, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation on Aug. 8 installed a ceremonial marker in a small park near Dupont Circle that honors William Dorsey Swann, a Black gay D.C. resident and former enslaved person who advocated for LGBTQ rights in the late 1800s.

The installation took place a little over two years after the D.C. Council approved and Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a bill in May 2023 re-designating Swann Street, N.W. near Dupont Circle in honor of William Dorsey Swann.

Historical records show that the street had originally been named for an 1800s-era Maryland governor named Thomas Swann, who was a slave holder.

D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), who introduced the William Dorsey Swann Street Designation Act in early 2023, released informatio

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