Oral history interview with Carolyn Margolis

Carolyn Margolis describes becoming involved with the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum) in 1968 as a volunteer and becoming a paid employee after two years. She describes learning to design exhibits and write exhibit catalogs. She discusses serving as a go-between for the museum and the Smithsonian Institution on several issues and building those relationships. She expresses her opinions about the development of the National African American History & Culture Museum on the National Mall, and how that might affect the museum. She describes the museum as being a community museum with national significance, with exhibits of national importance. She describes a loss of community spirit and a more formal approach when the museum relocated to Fort Stanton Park. She describes the original museum as "neutral territory" and "almost sacred ground", where staff had an emotional commitment and caring for the place. She describes how it brought the neighborhood together and helped them cope with a lot of problems. The interview was recorded by Erin Miller on November 12, 1991. The audio quality is clear with some minor background noise. Exhibitions mentioned: Blacks in the Westward Movement, The Frederick Douglass years: a cultural history, Black women: achievements against the odds.