Down Memory Lane
Object Details
- Creator
- Anacostia Neighborhood Museum
- Scope and Contents
- Older residents of Anacostia share their experiences and memories growing up and living in the once tight knit community, Anacostia, to provide evidence of Anacostia's history with goal of understanding the history of the community for present and future generations and with the theory that if man does not know where he came from, he/she cannot know here he/she is, and has no direction for the future. Martha Ellis reminiscences about her work at the public schools, particularly Birney School. Ruth Duckett, Ellis' daughter, talks about her work with the youth group at the Southeast House; when it was safe to sit outside and walk down the street; the portrayal of Anacostia in the newspapers and media; successful people who grew up in Anacostia and moved to other parts of the city and country; the baseball club Anacostia ACs; and ministers and movement of churches in the area. Churches mentioned by Duckett and other residents include Macedonia Baptist Church, St. Teresa's Catholic Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, and Campbell A.M.E. Church. Residents speak about Anacostia's rich heritage of people doing things - the craftsmen, construction workers, business people, and entrepreneurs - including sign painter, automobile painter, and artist Walter McKenzie; the fish man Mr. Chapman; the Greenwood family and their family business, Greenwood Transfer Moving and Storage Company; and the Taylor family, specifically Blakely Taylor, who were brick layers. They reminiscence about how everyone knew everyone, how everyone helped each other and the community thrive, when mothers stayed home and took care of children, when children participated in programs at the recreation center, when police had closer tie to community; and when it is so quiet, residents could hear cars go across the 11th street bridge. Residents also talk about the present: movement of people from different communities into Anacostia, younger Anacostians forced away because of zoning and no housing besides apartments, dirty streets, and violence. Overall, residents do not feel as if everything is bad in Anacostia; they just wish something would be done to fix the problems before they become worse.
- Community Program. Filmed during exhibit Evolution of a Community with introduction by John Kinard (transcribed from physical asset AV003581) and moderated by Almore Dale. AV003581: Part 1. AV003088: Part 2. AV003550: Part 3, poor image quality. Part of Evolution of a Community Audiovisual Records. Dated 19720524. AV003383-3 and AV003383-4: sound only, content overlaps with video recordings, undated.
- Date
- 1972
- Extent
- 3 Video recordings (open reel, 1/2 inch)
- 1 Sound recording (open reel, 1/4 inch)
- Type
- Archival materials
- Video recordings
- Sound recordings
- Topic
- Museums and community
- Community museums
- African Americans
- Communities
- Neighborhoods
- African American neighborhoods
- Churches
- African American churches
- Schools
- Baseball teams
- Recreation centers
- Entrepreneurship
- African American businesspeople
- Business enterprises
- African American business enterprises
- Small business
- Family-owned business enterprises
- Crime
- Police
- Police-community relations
- Migration, Internal
- Social history
- Place
- Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
- Barry Farms (Washington, D.C.)
- Washington (D.C.)
- United States
- Collection 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.
- Citation
- Down Memory Lane, Exhibition Records AV03-040, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
- Identifier
- ACMA.03-040, Item ACMA AV003581
- Local Numbers
- ACMA AV003088 ACMA AV003550 ACMA AV003383-3 ACMA AV003383-4
- General
- Title transcribed from physical asset.
Related Content
1 result(s)-
Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records
- Scope and Contents
- The records of the Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition presented by the Anacostia Community Museum measure 2.26 cubic 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. Exhibit Records include an outline for exhibit themes and proposed layouts, administrative files that include work plans and meeting notes, lists of exhibit images, promotional press releases, and related correspondence. Subjects relate to project management and community engagement. Oral History of Anacostia Project Files include transcripts of the audio collected from the Oral History of Anacostia Project. This includes a list of interviewees and their interviewers. Neighborhood Background Research Files represent two-thirds of the collection. Research files include news clippings, publications, unpublished articles, project files, and research material. Subjects include local figures and the Barry's Farm neighborhood, unpublished historical narratives, and project records related to archaeological investigations and neighborhood development programs.
- Historical Note
- An exhibition on history of the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington D.C. post-World War II. The show was organized by the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now the Anacostia Community Museum) and held there from January 1, 1972 to December 31, 1972.
- Date
- 1898-1988
- Extent
- 2.26 Cubic feet (1 box, 1 oversized box.)
- Provenance
- Records of the Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition were created by the Anacostia Community 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.
- Citation
- Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Exhibition catalogs
- Contact sheets
- Correspondence
- Clippings
- Photographic prints
- Negatives
- Exhibition records
- Topic
- Museum exhibits
- African American neighborhoods
- African Americans
- Place
- Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
- Identifier
- ACMA.03-040