It’s a real conversation starter that, now, for the first time in human history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities and that this unprecedented rate of urbanization has presented major challenges for communities trying to achieving sustained and equitable growth. In conjunction with its 50th anniversary exhibition, “A Right To The City,” the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum is convening scholars, organizers/activists, nonprofit leaders, concerned citizens and others on Friday, Oct. 26 from 9am–6:30pm for timely conversations on this issue.
“We have assembled thought leaders at the symposium not only to get better understanding of how the American city has been shaped by more than a half-century of unequal and unjust hope development, but also how communities are mobilizing to work toward a more equitable future,” said Samir Meghelli, senior curator at the museum. Meghelli organized the acclaimed exhibition currently on view at the museum which looks at community change in six neighborhoods in the District of Columbia.
“Like our exhibition, this symposium has struck quite a nerve given the number of people wanting to attend” said Lisa Sasaki, interim director of the museum. “‘The right to the city’ —as Curator Meghelli points out— resonates as much today as in 1968 when French sociologist and philosopher Henri Lefrebvre first offered the notion as demand for ‘… a renewed right to urban life.’”
The event will be taped and made available on the museum’s website by the first of next year. It will also launch a 2019 Conversation Series of public programs offering a deeper dive on many of the issues explored. Collaborating partners on the symposium are: American Universityt’s Metropolitan Policy Center; ONE DC (Organizing Neighborhood Equity); the Visionary Organizing Lab and the National Fair Housing Alliance.
Symposium Schedule:
About the Museum: Established in 1967, the Anacostia Community Museum focuses on examining the impact of contemporary social issues on urban communities.
For more information, call (202) 633-4820; for tours, call (202) 633-4844. Website: anacostia.si.edu.
Media Only:
Marcia Baird Burris (202) 633-4876; (202) 320-1735 (cell)
bairdburrism@si.edu
Media Website:
http://www.anacostia.si.edu; http://newsdesk.si.edu
Note to editor:Images for publicity can be obtained from http://newsdesk.si.edu. Also visit the museum website at anacostia.si.edu for the calendar of public programs associated with the exhibitions.