Oral history interview with Blanche Nagelgast

E. Blanche Nagelgast, the former curator of the Africana Museum in Johannesburg, describes hearing Dr. John Kinard's speech at the Conference of the South African Museums Association in 1987, how he described the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum) with great pride, and the impact it had on her and her colleagues. She describes how the Africana Museum began to build a non-Eurocentric museum, and began collecting things from the indigenous population, like artwork, bead work, headdresses, and bridal veils. She talks at length about animal toys that children in rural areas had made from wire, which are now collected by museums, including a museum in Washington. The interview was conducted by Zora Martin-Felton. There is some minor background noise, but the interview can be heard clearly throughout the recording.