Object Details
Scope and Contents
The records of the Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition presented by the Anacostia Community Museum measure 5.83 linear feet and date from 1898 to 1988. Included are exhibit administrative files, lists of images, press releases for the promotion of the exhibit, oral history transcripts and permission forms, and extensive research files into the Anacostia community in southeast Washington D.C.
The Research Files series contains news clippings, publications, unpublished articles, project files, and research material for the exhibitions. Subjects include local figures and the Barry's Farm neighborhood, unpublished historical narratives, and project records related to archaeological investigations and neighborhood development programs.
The Interview series consists of the audio cassettes and transcripts of the oral history interviews collected in 1970-1971 for the Evolution of a Community exhibits. This series also includes interview notes and thank you letters from the museum to the interviewees. Digital audio files are available for some of the oral history interviews.
Exhibit File series includes an outline for exhibit themes and proposed layouts, drafts of the exhibit scripts, lists of exhibit objects, promotional press releases, and related correspondence.
sova.acma.03-040
Creator
Anacostia Community Museum
Names
Anacostia Community Museum
Anacostia Neighborhood Museum
Place
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Topic
Museum exhibits
African American neighborhoods
African Americans
Provenance
Records of the Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition were created by the Anacostia Community Museum.
Creator
Anacostia Community Museum
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Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records
Sponsor
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Historical Note
Evolution of a Community began as a research project to investigate the history of Anacostia through oral histories. This project was funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Housing and Urban Development Department, and the Cafritz Foundation of Washington, D.C. The purpose of creating an oral history project was to record Anacostia's history from the perspective of its residents and translate those stories into meaningful and interesting exhibits. Three exhibitions were created from this project by the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum) between 1972 and 1975 The first exhibition was The Evolution of a Community, Part 1: 1608-1955 and was held from February 27, 1972 – August 31, 1972. This exhibition centered on the history of Anacostia from 1608 until shortly after World War II, drawing from the 1970 oral histories interviews with longtime residents. The second exhibition was The Evolution of a Community, Part 2: 1955-Present and was held from September 1, 1972 – December 31, 1972. This exhibition showcased Anacostia's history from 1955 to 1972 and was organized into five major topics: housing, unemployment, education, crime, and drugs. The last exhibition was Anacostia Today: The Evolution of a Community, Part 2: Continued and was held from March 1, 1973 – July 31, 1973. This exhibition was the same exhibition as The Evolution of a Community, Part 2: 1955-Present but brought back for the museum's fifth anniversary and continued its focus on its five major topics.
Extent
5.83 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Date
1898-1988
Archival Repository
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
Identifier
ACMA.03-040
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Exhibition catalogs
Contact sheets
Correspondence
Clippings
Photographic prints
Negatives
Exhibition records
Oral histories (document genres)
Citation
Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
Evolution of a Community: 1972 exhibition records is arranged in 4 series.
Series 1: Research Files
Series 2: Interviews
Series 3: Exhibit Files
Series 4: Audiovisual Materials
Processing Information
In 2016, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund, the Archives at the Anacostia Community Museum implemented the use of minimal level processing standards to increase information about and facilitate access to more of our collections.
For this subject, minimal processing included arrangement to the folder level, based on prior processing and preservation action, with retention of the pre-existing arrangement when possible, if applicable. Otherwise, an order was imposed by the Processing Archivist. Some materials were consolidated to eliminate excess bulk but items within folders were not arranged further. The guide may or may not include a more refined lists of folder contents. Non-archival housing was replaced for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
Minimal level processing and machine-readable finding aid completed by Max Howell, 2017 July. The initial collection record was produced by Jennifer Morris in 2011.
In 2022, as part of the "DC Women Speak" project item-level cataloguing of the oral histories were completed. This project received Federal support from the Smithsonian Amerian Women's History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.
Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form
Exhibition catalogs
Contact sheets
Correspondence
Clippings
Photographic prints
Negatives
Exhibition records -- 1967-1989
Oral histories (document genres)
Restrictions
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
ACMA.03-040
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa75cac2f00-94cc-479a-bf58-1c9a3dd1ced4
ACMA.03-040
ACMA
Record ID
ebl-1554839407468-1554839407479-0