This weekend in Washington, D.C., Art All Night will bring residents and visitors into neighborhoods across the city to experience art, culture, creativity, and community.
For Wanda’s on 7th, the evening is also an opportunity to welcome new faces into a Black-owned business that has been part of Seventh Street for more than two decades.
At the center of the story is Ms. Wanda, a hairstylist and entrepreneur whose career in the beauty industry spans 50 years.
For generations of clients, Howard University students, neighborhood families, and longtime residents, Wanda’s on 7th has been more than a salon. It has served as a gathering place, a source of information, a refuge, and a familiar part of the community.
As Art All Night brings more people into the area, Ms. Wanda’s story offers a reminder that some of the neighborhood’s most meaningful cultural institutions are the businesses that have been serving the community all along.
A Business Built on Community
Ms. Wanda entered the beauty industry as a shampoo girl at Natural Motions after attending cosmetology school.
She remained at Natural Motions for 18 years before eventually opening her own salon. Her first location was Fred’s Hair Studio on 12th and U Street. When she later needed more space, she found a two-story, 2,200-square-foot location on Seventh Street.
That space became Wanda’s on 7th.
Over the years, the salon became much more than a place to receive beauty services.
“We’re a place of refuge. We’re a place of information,” Ms. Wanda said. “We’re a place where people can come and feel comfortable.”
Howard University students unfamiliar with the area have stopped in to get their bearings. Neighborhood children have received book bags. Seniors have come in for services and conversation. People who simply needed somewhere safe to sit for a moment have been welcomed inside.
That sense of community is part of what has helped Wanda’s on 7th endure.
Generations of Howard University Connections
Wanda’s on 7th has also developed a longstanding relationship with Howard University and its students.
Ms. Wanda remembers students who first came into the salon while attending Howard and later returned years after graduation.
One former student told her how much it meant to have a place nearby where he could get a haircut, feel comfortable, and experience the warmth of family while he was away from home.
Her connection to Howard now extends into her own family as well. Her grandson Seven attends the university, adding another generation to a relationship she already holds close.
Still on Seventh
Supporting Wanda’s on 7th during Art All Night also means supporting a business that has remained through significant neighborhood change.
For 23 years, Ms. Wanda has navigated rising costs, gentrification, economic pressures, and changes within the beauty industry.
There were times when maintaining the business meant figuring out how to cover rent, utilities, and other expenses while making sure customers still felt comfortable coming into the neighborhood.
“We always worked and prayed over it, found a way to be here these twenty-three years and counting,” she said.
For Ms. Wanda, simply remaining visible matters.
She remembers what it meant to grow up seeing neighborhood business owners and wants younger generations to experience that same sense of possibility.
She wants children in the community to remember that Ms. Wanda was there—and that someone who looked like them owned a business there.
Fifty Years of Black Beauty
Those who visit Wanda’s on 7th are also stepping into a business shaped by 50 years of Black beauty history.
Ms. Wanda has watched trends come and go—from finger waves and pixie cuts to braids, weaves, and natural hairstyles.
Of them all, natural hair and braiding remain especially meaningful to her because of their connection to Black culture and African traditions.
“The art of hair was just beautiful,” she said.
That appreciation for Black beauty, culture, and identity has remained at the center of her work even as the industry around her has changed.
The Legacy Is Still Growing
Ms. Wanda’s story is not only about what she has already built.
She is also preparing for what comes next.
Her vision for Henderson International Academy is to create a beauty and barber school in Ward 8 that combines technical training with financial literacy, continuing education, entrepreneurship, and exposure to other skilled trades.
The goal is to give students more than a career skill.
Ms. Wanda wants them to understand how a trade can provide income, financial stability, and an opportunity to build wealth for themselves and their families.
After five decades in the industry, she is taking everything she has learned behind the chair and as a business owner and finding a way to pass it forward.
Celebrating the Businesses That Help Shape D.C.
Art All Night is a celebration of creativity, culture, and community.
For Wanda’s on 7th, it is also an opportunity to introduce more people to a business that has helped shape the neighborhood through decades of service.
Behind the salon doors are 50 years of beauty experience, 23 years of Seventh Street history, generations of Howard University connections, and a Black woman entrepreneur who continues to build toward the future.
When asked to describe her journey in one word, Ms. Wanda chose resilience.
“No matter what comes your way, you stand,” she said.
That resilience is part of what has kept Wanda’s on 7th rooted in the community—and part of what makes the business worth celebrating now.
Register for the Hair & Fashion Show here.
Connect with Ms. Wanda and Wanda’s on 7th on Instagram at @wandasdc.
