With its Central Public Library and its location along a number of streetcar lines, Mount Vernon Square was a gathering place for residents during the first half of the 20th century. Shaw, a name given to the area north of the square in 1966, encompasses several distinct neighborhoods populated by African Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans. This is the neighborhood where A. Philip Randolph worked on civil rights tactics, and Carter G. Woodson pioneered the study of black history.