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History

Mrs. Davis in the late 1800s.

It was segregation that lead to the creation of the AFSC Washington Office.

Ann Hubbard Davis a DC resident and a friend of Quakers, was concerned that Africans and other international guests were unable to find lodging in the segregated hotels of Washington. Moved by this, she began informally receiving international guests at her home in the early 1930's.

Over time, the informal operation became a true guest house and it began housing AFSC Washington staff. Mrs. Davis' relationship with Quakers and the AFSC grew and, when she died, she donated her house and the guest house operation to AFSC.

Mrs. Davis in the 1920s.

In the early 1950s, AFSC moved the guest house and other Washington Office staff to a recently purchased row house in Dupont Circle where it is housed today.

Through the 1950s the AFSC role in Washington advocacy and Quaker witness further developed, sponsoring seminars and press breakfasts for area journalists and political figures.

As time went on, segregation in Washington ended and the focus of work gradually turned to policy and legislative advocacy, bringing AFSC's on the ground experience to bear on the Washington policy process.

Responding to changing trends, the growing strategic plan needs for Washington policy advocacy, and increased alternatives for overnight housing in the area, Davis House, the guest house operation, closed in 2005.

As the next chapter in the Mrs. Davis legacy, the policy advocacy work of AFSC Washington staff is growing, and the Washington Office continues to build upon ideas of international hospitality as it serves as the host of many AFSC international staff and partners as they visit policy makers and political leaders in Washington.

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