History
The earliest efforts to organize Kingman Boys Club began in 1968 following outbreaks of violence throughout the city after Martin Luther King’s assassination. Mr. Richard L Peters, a local business owner, and five other Rotary Club members responded by creating a space where local boys could come to play basketball and get involved in other athletic activities. Within a year, he and his family donated both the land and the building which would become the clubhouse. Additional contributions from the Peters/Lamb family, the original founders, and various local philanthropic institutions have made it possible for Kingman to establish sufficient financial stability to insure its long term presence in the community. Since 1969, the Kingman Boys & Girls Club’s doors have remained open to the youth of the city.
Richard L. Peters December 18, 1929 – April 12, 2008
VISION
Kingman Boys and Girls Club is dedicated to:
- • Making a positive difference in children’s lives
- • Creating confident and motivated learners
- • Fostering a perspective on sports as an enjoyable outlet, but not a primary avenue to future success
- • Broadening cultural awareness, perceptions, and understanding
- • Providing a safe, nurturing environment that promote peace of mind among both the children attending Kingman and their parents
- • Contributing to community stability, quality, and continuity.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Kingman children can take pride in their many accomplishments:
- • Quantitative performance indicators demonstrate the positive impact of Kingman’s after school academic reinforcement programs on children’s’ academic performance
- • Former Kingman members have returned to Club as volunteers, staff, and members of the Board of Directors
- • School attendance rates far exceed the DCPS average
- • Athletic teams have won numerous City-wide champion ships
- • Hundreds of Kingman youth have received athletic scholarships to college.
How Did Kingman Place Get Its Name?
Kingman Place was named after Eliab Kingman, a clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives, who owned the land and subdivided it into lots in 1857. Kingman died in 1883 and is buried in Congressional Cemetery.
There are rumors that President Lincoln’s son Tad once stabled horses in the building that houses Kingman Boys and Girls Club today.
Kingman Athletic Hall of Fame
Top left to right: Coach John Thompson, Buffalo Bill player Donald Wilson, Arizona University Julius Holt,
Houston Rockets Steve Francis, West Virginia University Greg Jones, Harvard University Christian Webster.
Second Row: George Washington University Darryl Webster, USA Softball Team Avon Meacham,
Georgetown University Robert Winston, Third Row: Howard University SID Kahlil Hill,
George Washington University Vaughn Jones, Maryland University Daune Simpkins
