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Drummers and dancers gather on Sunday afternoon at Malcolm X Park to ignite the lawns and gardens with percussion and movement.听

The park鈥檚 half-century-old drum circle has become one of the District鈥�s sustained traditions, with participants now extending their skills into classrooms and workshops.听

The park overlooks the District perched on one of D.C.鈥檚 highest points. It was laid out in the early 1900s as Meridian Hill Park.

In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson first called the area Meridian Hill, named for the White House meridian line first surveyed by Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker, who mapped Washington, D.C.听

Officially, it鈥檚 still Meridian Hill Park. To but to many Washingtonians, it鈥檚 Malcolm X Park.听

In 1969, Angela Davis held a rally, calling for the park to be renamed Malcolm X Park following Malcolm X鈥檚 assassination. A few years later, the drum circle began meeting regularly.听听

Ngoma鈥檚 legacy. 听

Kwame William H. Caudle Babalu remembers the early years of the drum circle vividly. He said he came up in D.C.鈥檚 revolutionary 1970s, when the District was known as Chocolate City.

Caudle said he learned drumming in the park from master drummer Baba Ngoma, the man he credits as the drum circle鈥檚 first leader. 听

鈥淏aba Ngoma always went to Malcolm X Park,鈥� Caudle said. 鈥淩ight after the death of Malcolm X, Baba Ngoma was playing drum prayers early in the morning.鈥�听

On those Sunday鈥�s, Caudle remembers waiting in silence until Ngoma finished playing. Only then, could a student speak.听

鈥淭hat鈥檚 how you learned,鈥� Caudle said. 鈥淵ou watched. You earned your part.鈥�听

Ngoma was deeply tied to D.C.鈥檚 Black consciousness movement, Caudle said. Schools in the District sent him to Kenya, where he had a spiritual reading and came back as Baba Ngoma, and instructed at the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers 鈥� one of his students being Caudle. 听

Caudle said the circle first met on the Euclid Street side of the park before moving into the main lawn. The site once served as a Civil War fort, according to the National Park Service, which inspired regulars to call it 鈥渢he sentry hub.鈥�听

鈥淭here was a sentry post,鈥� Caudle said. 鈥淎nd Baba Ngoma would do prayer and libation for El Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X) and all of the ancestors.鈥�听

A libation is a ritual pouring of water in remembrance of the dead.听

The circle grows.

Kevin Lambert said he started coming to the circle shortly after he moved to D.C. in 1990.听

鈥淚t was a little more spiritual than it is now,鈥� Lambert said. 鈥淚t started in the 1960s with Black nationalism and movements, so there was a definite political and spiritual edge to it.鈥�听

He said he first stumbled onto the circle by chance after passing by one Sunday afternoon and hearing the congas.听

鈥淏y gosh, there were about 20 guys playing drums. I figured that Chocolate City would have a drum circle, and I finally sort of stumbled onto it,鈥� Lambert said.听

At the time, the circle鈥檚 leadership centered around Barnett Williams, a master drummer and longtime percussionist who played with Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets, Lambert said.听

Williams听鈥�was a man of deep respect. He finally said, 鈥極kay, guys, shut up 鈥� this man knows what he鈥檚 doing,鈥� and that opened the door for me,鈥� Lambert said.听

When Williams died in 2006, Lambert said he feared the circle would end.听听

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have anyone to keep it right,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut other people stepped into the breach 鈥� and then we realized the breach didn鈥檛 really have to be stepped into.鈥�听

Over time, the circle became more open and community –based.听

Drumming as oral history.听

Healing through drumming drives Yuma 鈥�Docta Yew鈥� Bellomee, who founded the. The group brings African drum and dance traditions into workshops and schools across the D.C. area, Bellomee said.听

Bellomee said he used to drum at Malcolm X Park but now spends his time teaching others.听

鈥淚t connects us to the cultures that we were disconnected from through the enslavement process,鈥� Bellomee said. 鈥淭he vibration, the rhythm of the drum, it moves energy inside of the body. It helps with self expression… helps to alleviate stress.”

That continuation is felt deeply by Jordyn Pigott, a dancer who first learned West African dance as a child and later joined Ni Dembaya under Bellomee鈥�s guidance.听

鈥淪o physically and mentally, I feel a lot of healing coming to this space,鈥� she said. 鈥淕et away from the D.C. hustle, the stress, the political climate.鈥�听

Across the DMV.听

Drumming across the DMV extends far beyond the park. Afro-Peruvian artist Andr茅s Ar茅valo instructs dancers to sync to the rhythms of the caj贸n and cajita, adding to D.C.鈥檚 drum culture.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 about remembering our African roots, our history, our families,鈥� Ar茅valo said.听

The Peruvian percussionist said his drum of choice, the cajita, evolved from a church collection box, to an instrument.听听

鈥淚t was creativity from the Afro-Peruvians,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey found a stick, and they started to make music.鈥�听

Ar茅valo runs the , teaching traditional Peruvian dance classes to his drumming.听

鈥淭his music is enjoyable for everyone,鈥� Ar茅valo said. 鈥淚f I can teach two thousand people to dance together鈥� to feel that rhythm 鈥� that is the dream.鈥� 听