Oral History Interview with Mary Kidd

Mary Kidd, a white woman, discusses her life in Anacostia after she moved to the neighborhood from Canada in 1962. She talks about education, particularly public schooling in Canada; the common occupations in the neighborhood, such as laborers and clerks for the government; recreation, including basketball at local parks and nearby swimming pools; closeknit family structures and female-led households; and churches residents attended, such as Bethlehem Baptist Church and Faith Presbyterian Church. She also goes in depth about the racial tension in the neighborhood, recalling specific incidents over the last 8 years. She speaks about the Southeast Neighborhood House and the Southeast Neighborhood Action Board, where she got to know community leaders, such as James Coates, Etta Horn, Stanley Anderson, and Theresa Jones. Other topics of discussion include Frederick Douglass Home, the Police Advisory Council, and other people to interview, such as Zora Martin Felton and William Raspberry. She ends the interview talking about the numerous current pressing problems of the neighborhood today: overcrowding in schools, the police force, inadequate housing and welfare programs, the pervasiveness of drugs, and the lack of proper sanitation and public transportation. Mary Kidd was interviewed on December 12, 1970, by an unnamed volunteer or staff member at the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now the Anacostia Community Museum). Digital audio files include white noise and static; interviewee can be heard clearly for most parts.