African american government girls featured by the DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment

The Great Migration served as the vehicle for the mass exodus out of the South. For single, young, and adventurous African American women, passing the civil service examinations, enabled them to join White women in various federal agencies by helping to support the war effort. These new federal civil service employees traveled from the Jim Crow South to seek other employment in the Treasury, Navy, War, Pentagon, and other federal agencies. As Government Girls accepted government jobs, these positions served to lift them out of domestic service and poverty into professional careers and middle-class lives. 

Until now, few knew the story of the African American Government Girls.  A 30-minute documentary film in progress being produced by Dr. Aura Wharton-Beck in collaboration with iDream.tv will start to tell their story. Support the 30-minute documentary here.

- From Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment (OCTFME) ‘People in the News’ - February, 2025

The video above was produced, directed, and narrated by the Emmy Award-winning team of Gigi Hinton and Editing Specialist Stacey T. Holmes. The Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment (OCTFME) is the official channel for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. This video will air on DC education and local cable channels, and will also stream on the DCE Network.