Oral history interview with Byron Rushing

Byron Rushing discusses his affiliation with the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum) through its founding director, John Kinard, and through Zora Felton, the director of the education program. He describes seeking out John after receiving a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts to travel and meet with people involved with African American museums around the country, in support of his work at the Museum of African American History in Boston. He describes remaining in close contact with Kinard and Martin-Felton, and the significant influence the museum had on his work at the museum in Boston. He describes the seminal innovations of the museum, including the extension of its mission beyond exhibit content to a relationship with the community, the style of its staff, and its active presence and involvement in various issues. He expresses his view that the major successes of the museum were the tone and standard it set for African American museums in the United States, its education program, and its exhibit program because it involved members of the community in the production of exhibits. The interview was recorded via telephone on June 12, 1992. It can be heard clearly throughout the recording, despite significant background noise. At the 25 minute mark, the interview ends and a recording of an audio tour for the exhibition To achieve these rights: the struggle for equality and self-determination in the District of Columbia from 1791-1978, begins. Exhibitions mentioned: The Rat: Man's Invited Affliction, Climbing Jacob's Ladder: the rise of Black churches in Eastern American cities, 1740 - 1877.