Oral history interview with Charles William Mickens

Charles W. Mickens discusses how he came to become involved with the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum). He recalls working as the Assistant Chief of Production for Exhibits at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, developing a training program for exhibition design, and establishing a close collegial relationship with John Kinard, which eventually led to Kinard offering him a job at the museum. He talks about making plans to finish the interior of the Carver Theater so that it could be utilized as an exhibition space, and how there was no funding for that effort. He remembers making the renovation a project for his students because many of the skills required would also apply to exhibit design, like putting up drywall. He describes Kinard's generosity in the community, how he held big lunches which many residents would attend, and how he kept an open-door policy. He says that through the community's engagement, and Kinard's strong leadership, the museum became like the "Rock of Gibraltar", protected from attempted closures. The interview was recorded on July 12, 1991. There is some background noise, but the interview can be heard clearly throughout the recording. Exhibitions mentioned: The Frederick Douglass years: a cultural history, Blacks in the Westward Movement, The Rat: Man's Invited Affliction.