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my name is Melanie Adams and I had the

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privilege of serving as the director of

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the Smithsonian's Anacostia community

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museum located in the Great Ward 8  like

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many of you watching this video I'm

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experiencing a new normal that prevents

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me from engaging in the everyday

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activities that until recently I took

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for granted no longer can we come

00:21

together to celebrate commemorate or

00:23

mourn the many milestones that measure

00:25

one's life and while I can sit at home

00:28

and lament my lack of mobility during

00:29

this time it goes without saying that

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there are many people in our community

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who are going to work every day making

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sure the rest of us remain safe healthy

00:38

and fed as the worth grapples with the

00:41

uncertainty brought on by Covid-19 the

00:43

word community is more important than

00:45

ever as individuals are finding support

00:47

from their communities these communities

00:50

could be your family your friends your

00:52

religious institutions your school or

00:54

your local barber shop or hair salon the

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Anacostia Community Museum’s mission is

00:59

to amplify the collective power of the

01:01

community currently that collective

01:03

power is the ability to care for and

01:06

comfort each other in this time of need

01:07

we at ACM want to hear the stories of

01:10

how community members are supporting

01:12

each other on a day to day basis it

01:15

could be the story of the young man who

01:16

volunteered to shop for his elderly

01:18

neighbor or the restaurant owner who

01:20

went from feeding the public to feeding

01:22

the suddenly unemployed these actions

01:25

large and small demonstrate moments of

01:27

resilience and our shared capacity to

01:29

make a difference we are asking you to

01:31

share these stories on our website

01:32

Anacostia.si.edu  some of the

01:36

stories will be shared on our social

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media channels while others may become

01:39

part of the museum's collection

01:41

throughout its fifty-three year history

01:43

the Anacostia Community Museum has

01:45

focused on telling the stories of the

01:47

individuals and events of the DC region

01:49

that are usually left out of the history

01:51

books the stories of conflict resilience

01:54

and most importantly community action

01:57

that led to a better future for all when

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all of this is over and we settle into a

02:02

new normal the records will reflect the

02:04

facts and figures related

02:06

to the pandemic the number of lives

02:08

taken the number of jobs lost the number

02:10

of years to create a vaccine it is our

02:13

mission at ACM to make sure we are also

02:16

able to amplify the stories of the

02:18

everyday individuals who helped foster a

02:20

sense of belonging connectedness at

02:23

community during this time of

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uncertainty in our history so on behalf

02:27

of the Anacostia community museum staff

02:30

take care of each other

02:31

and stay safe