Oral history interview with James "Jim" Banks

Anacostia Community Museum

Object Details

Names

Carver Theater (Washington, DC)

Frederick Douglass Memorial Home

Sewing Council (Anacostia group)

Jones, Altman

Underdue, Sally

Collection Creator

Anacostia Community Museum

Collection Citation

ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Scope and Contents note

Jim Banks discusses the purpose and impact of the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum). He describes its emphasis on community outreach, and how the neighborhood residents became involved with its construction, programs, sewing council and community meetings. He describes the scope of the museum broadening from a special focus on the Anacostia community to presenting African American history in a broader context. He also discusses the effect of the social and political climate on the museum, and the museum's relationship with the Smithsonian Institution over the years. The interview was recorded on May 6, 1992. The audio quality is clear throughout the recording with some background noise.

sova.acma.09-034_ref11

GUID

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa73fb898e9-f0af-454c-8ea2-0233bdf1d7d0

Place

Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)

Provenance

Conducted as part of the ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, which includes approximately 100 interviews of residents and influential people of the Anacostia area of Washington, DC.

See more items in

ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project

Biographical / Historical

Jim Banks (1930-2005) earned a sociology degree from Howard University, and a Masters Degree in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh. He served in the Navy during World War II. In 1955 he was named Citizen of the Year by the DC League of Women Voters. He became the Assistant Director of tenant selection for the National Capital Housing Authority. In 1963 he began a four-year tenure as the first Executive Director of the United Planning Organization. From 1967-1969, he worked at the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. He later joined DC Mayor Walter E. Washington's cabinet as Director of Housing Programs. He then became the Executive Vice President of the Washington Board of Realtors. In 1988 he helped found the Anacostia/Congress Heights Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness. He also served as Senior Warden and Chairman of the Restoration Committee for the St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Washington. In 2004 he authored the book The Unintended Consequences: Family and Community, the Victims of Isolated Poverty with his son, Peter.

Extent

1 Sound cassette (original)

1 Sound cassette (copy)

Date

1992 May 6

Container

Box AV 57

Archival Repository

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

Identifier

ACMA.09-034, Item AV001541, AV001667

Type

Archival materials

Audio

Sound cassettes

Oral histories (document genres)

Genre/Form