American Poet Langston Hughes wrote:
When a man starts out with nothing,
When a man starts out with his hands
Empty, but clean,
When a man starts out to build a world,
He starts first with himself
And the faith that is in his heart-
The strength there,
The will there to build.
First in the heart is the dream.
Then the mind starts seeking a way.
His eyes look out on the world, ...
*( excerpt from "Freedom's Plow")
American historian Paul J. Giddings wrote a book called, When and Where I Enter. Her work spoke of the history of a certain segment of American women and their contributions to history. I entered the scene in August of 1967 on a Saturday morning.
I remember that a couple of years ago, a whole bunch of us Eastern Market artists woke up and it was 2007. We had just be bopped, strolled, sashayed, shimmied, hopped, walked, break-danced, moon-walked, and done the bump, the robot, the electric slide, the cabbage patch, the Soul Train line dance into our fourth decade. We had all benefited from those who came before us, who, through their work, lives, protests and struggles, changed, improved and reinvigorated our world.
One of those people was Tom Rall, founder of The Flea Market at Eastern Market. In 1967, he had finished at Kent State with a BFA in journalism and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune.
(Tom Rall, at work at
The Flea Market at Eastern Market, 2009)
In 1969, the North Hall of Eastern Market was a Washington, D. C. government storage facility.
Johh Harrod and Tom Rall would bring a real "change" to Eastern Market, the Capitol Hill community and the nation's capitol.
Tom Rall came to Capitol Hill in 1969, one year after the 1968 riots. The "Hill" looked different then, and in 1969, I was running around barefooted on my granddaddy's farm in Humboldt, Tennessee. Mr. Rall came from Middleport, Ohio, a very small Midwestern town between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati on the Ohio River. He came to Washington, D.C. to work at the Methodist Board of Christian Social Concerns, whose headquarters was in the Methodist Building. He was a conscious objector to the war. Thus, his work with the Methodists was alternative service to military service. In 1970 Tom Rall worked with Reverend Walter Fauntroy and David Clarke with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference promoting a benefit showing of the film, King, a Filmed Record: Montgomery to Memphis.
At this time, John Harrod (founder of Market 5 Gallery) was doing community organizing at Friendship House. One of the struggles at the time that Tom Rall, fought for at the Methodist Building was "home rule" for the District of Columbia. Rall stated "One benefit of home rule was the establishment of Market 5 Gallery." Market 5 Gallery, founded by John Harrod in the North Hall of Eastern Market, was a community arts center open to everyone. During its time, Market 5 hosted political events for the DNC as well as local plays written by neighborhood schoolchildren; local music, dance, and art exhibitions of Eastern Market artists and others were regular occurrences. Moreover, Market 5 Gallery was the "mother ship" for all outside operations (expect the farmers' line) at Eastern Market. It was John Harrod's idea to begin an outside Arts and Crafts Market and a Flea Market.
Tom Rall told me that he had "dropped out". What he means by this, I think, is that instead of rejoining the corporate, nonprofit or political mainstream world, he had decided to create something that allowed him to be "free". Funny, that--in 1991 I left a PH, D. program in history to become an artist. That desire to be "free" and independent is a driving force in American History and is also a motivating factor for many of the artists and exhibitors that come from all over the world to Eastern Market to show, share and sell their art and merchandise. Mr. Rall did not "drop out"; he "checked in" to the lifeblood that has made America a symbol of freedom throughout the world.
By the mid 1970's, Rall had moved off the "Hill" to the Shenandoah Valley and had started going to auctions, buying and selling antiques; as he states, "I got hooked". He figured that one could support oneself in rural America by selling in urban America. By 1975, he was selling primarily antique furniture (that is, Empire, Art Deco, and quilts) at the Georgetown Flea Market.
By 1978, John Harrod and Ted Gay had started the Arts and Crafts Fair at Eastern Market. Ted Gay was co-founder of Market 5 Gallery at Eastern Market, later a board member of the Gallery. Mr. Gay became chair of the D.C. Commission of the Arts and later still Chair of the Washington D.C. Democratic Party. Tom Rall was introduced to John Harrod in 1978 by Ted Gay. By this time, Tom Rall had also become an auctioneer. Between 1981 and 1991, Tom ran auctions at Market 5 that not only benefitted the community arts space but also other Capitol Hill community organization--for example, Capital Hill Arts Workshop (C.H.A.W.)
The idea for the flea market was John Harrod's, so in 1983 Tom Rall was the only flea market exhibitor on Sundays. By 1984, ( I have been told that their agreement was made on a handshake) Tom Rall was the manager of the flea market and he named it The Flea Market at Eastern Market.
*
( The first "informational flyer" establishing the Flea Market at Eastern Market in 1984)
(* Tom Rall archives)
*
( Tom Rall's stand 1984 in front of Market 5 Gallery, the north hall at Eastern Market)
(* Tom Rall Archives)
And that was the beginning. Today, Tom Rall's efforts have born copious fruit, as can be seen at http://www.easternmarket.net/ He did this through hard work, attention to detail, marketing, advertising, friendships, integrity and, over time, developing a team of like minded individuals...
Witnessing,
Sonda T. Allen
Turtle's Webb
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