A new bridge that opened in Montgomery County, Maryland, Friday unites two neighborhoods that were once divided into Black and white.
Patricia Tyson, a lifelong resident of the historically Black Lyttonsville neighborhood in Silver Spring, was among the first to cross the new Talbot Avenue Bridge.
“I sure wish my parents were here to see this,” Tyson said.
The old Talbot Avenue bridge once separated Lyttonsville from the North Woodside neighborhood, which was white.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
The old one-lane bridge was a symbol of division. Black people were banned from living in the white community.
“The homes in the white community actually had covenants on the property that said that the homes could not be owned by Black African American residents,” Montgomery County Council Vice President Kate Stewart said. “And the only people who could live in that community were servants.”
“It’s important that we talk about that and acknowledge that this is not all just happy stories,” County Executive Marc Elrich said. “Because if people only tell happy stories, people forget their past, and when people forget their past, they don’t understand the present.”
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
The bridge is much larger than the original bridge with a wide sidewalk and room for cyclists and two-way traffic.
The Lyttonsville and North Woodside communities are now known for their diversity and unity events, such as the annual Lantern Walk, which will take place on the new bridge.
“It’s bringing two communities together and people together, and that’s what we love doing,” resident Ana Marshall said. “We enjoy it so much that there’s nothing, no barrier in between us.”
The bridge’s significance is not lost on residents on both ends of the span, which they now see as an important connection.
“It’s important to let the young folks know what we have gone and what they didn’t have to go through,” resident Jean Seagears said. “So, we made a way, we made a lead way for them to come across.”
Transportation officials say the bridge is also a milestone for the Purple Line, which will have a stop in Lyttonsville.
News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.
