The Pike: the power of humanity's kinship

The Columbia Pike Documentary Project invites us to encounter one of the most diverse communities in the world. With people speaking over a hundred languages living together with little in the way of ethnic enclaves, Columbia Pike in Arlington offers what may be a unique experience in diversity.

In this 18-minute podcast episode, I interview project team members Sushmita Mazumdar, Dewey Tron, and Lloyd Wolf about what drives them to document life on the Pike in videos, books, talks, and exhibitions. This episode has some great stories and insights about how a living diversity can make public life richer.

Above: Columbia Pike at Walter Reed during the 2024 Columbia Pike Blues Festival

Now in its 18th year, the documentary project has other goals besides letting the world beyond Columbia Pike in on this life-changing diverse community. The project

• Holds a mirror to the various neighborhoods of Columbia Pike to help them understand themselves another way—as a single, beautiful community

• Welcomes immigrants and validates their place in our society

• Celebrates the activities of the various nationalities along Columbia Pike

• Documents the Pike’s constantly shifting demographics and changing streetscapes for future research

Above: my students work with materials on the walls from the Columbia Pike Documentary Project

Here are some resources about Columbia Pike and the Columbia Pike Documentary Project, most of which are referred to in the podcast:

The Columbia Pike Documentary Project website

The Columbia Pike Documentary Project video

Website for the book Transitions: The Columbia Pike Documentary Project

Website for the book Columbia Pike Recipes for Recovery: Restaurant Stories from Around the World in One Zip Code

The City of Stories project webpage

Above: Columbia Pike Plaza

Music and sound effects used with permission from BBC Sound Effects. bbc.co.uk – © copyright 2025 BBC.

My thanks to Lloyd Wolf, Dewey Tron, and Sushmita Mazumdar for the generous gift of their time, stories, and insights.

Above: car parked on S Highland Street

Above: Lloyd Wolf talks to some of my students in his capacity as our Arlington project’s expert (more tireless volunteer work that Lloyd does for the Columbia Pike community)