Zachi Elias
Humanist. Civic Scholar.
Public Historian. Aspiring International Relations Scholar.
About Me
My work spans oral history, archival research, and public scholarship to help document stories often excluded from mainstream narratives, including the experiences of D.C. public housing residents, the contributions of African colonial soldiers in WWII, the long fight for the Freedom of Information Act, and the experiences of gun violence survivors.
Alongside my historical work, I remain engaged with civic issues related to housing access.
I believe memory is a form of responsibility. My work has led me to think more deeply about how societies carry their histories forward and how constructive conversations about those histories can influence the way communities understand themselves and one another.
I hope to carry this work forward through the study of international relations, examining how states and institutions respond to the legacies of past events and how societies engage with the histories that continue to affect them.
The projects below highlight some of my work in public history, historical research, and scholarship.
Housing Our Stories
Founder & Director
Housing Our Stories is an oral history initiative documenting the lived experiences of D.C. public housing, transitional housing, and inclusionary zoning residents. Through interviews I’ve conducted since March 2024, I aim to preserve perspectives that are often excluded from formal archives and policy debates.
Select interviews will be archived in partnership with the DC Historical Society. I presented findings at the Oral History MidAtlantic Regional Symposium in 2025, and the project was covered in the Washington Informer.
WWII African Colonial Soldiers Research
Historical Researcher
I conducted independent research examining how over one million African colonial soldiers were conscripted for World War II (1939–1945) through coercion and economic pressure. My research argues that these soldiers were systematically denied equal treatment during their service and remain underrepresented in mainstream World War II narratives despite their contributions.
The research has produced a 10,000-word paper and a blog, Unsung Warriors.
Freedom of Information Act Documentary
Researcher & Director
I created a mini documentary tracing the eleven-year fight to pass the 1966 Freedom of Information Act, from Congressman John Moss’s initial efforts in 1955 through presidential resistance from Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. The film tells the story of how this landmark transparency legislation became law, later enabling the exposure of institutional abuses from Flint to Abu Ghraib.
I later developed the research into an honors thesis examining the constitutional tensions between executive secrecy, congressional oversight, and the public’s right to access government information.
This documentary placed in the top 10 nationally at National History Day 2025 and received the Outstanding Award from the Society for History in the Federal Government.
Youth Fellow, Oral Histories
Ctr. for Innovations in Community Safety | Washington, DC
I was a fellow with the Center for Innovations in Community Safety, supported by Georgetown University Humanities Council funding, examining how gun violence survivors construct narrative meaning from traumatic experiences.
Using oral history methodology, I analyzed interview transcripts to identify patterns in survivor testimony.
I served as the director of the mini-documentary Nex Gen Narratives, produced by Dr. Cassandra Ramdath, edited by Joseph Green, and advised by Roscoe Atchison. The project honors survivor experiences while connecting research with public engagement and contributes to scholarship on memory and community-based approaches to violence prevention.
Public History Research Intern
Mapping Segregation D.C. | Washington, DC
As a Public History Research Intern with Mapping Segregation D.C. in Washington, DC, I contributed to a digital humanities initiative documenting the legacy of racially restrictive covenants, clauses in property deeds that limited who could own or occupy homes based on race, in Washington, D.C. property records.
I conducted archival analysis of 400+ housing deeds, identifying and extracting covenant language for integration with geospatial data. Through this research, I examined how individual property records reveal broader patterns of segregation and housing discrimination in the city.
Building on this work, I developed a research paper showing how housing discrimination in D.C. persisted beyond the 1948 Shelley v. Kraemer Supreme Court decision, which prevented the legal enforcement of covenants.
Student Advisory Council Member
Gilder Lehrman Institute | New York, NY
Multi-year engagement. First as a high school Student Advisory Council member and now as an Undergraduate Advisory Council member, I provide feedback on curriculum development and program design, helping shape how students engage with American history. As a 9th grader, I transcribed primary source documents to expand educational accessibility.
Opinion Columnist
Opinion Columnist | St. Albans News
Through regular writing, I connected historical analysis to contemporary policy debates, exploring how the lessons of the past can inform the way we understand issues facing society today. My columns examined how historical precedent shapes current questions and the continued relevance of historical inquiry in civic life.
