Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
1,510 documents - page 1 of 76

Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records

Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Names:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Extent:
21.6 Cubic feet (consisting of 17 cartons, 2 oversized boxes.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Transcripts
Color slides
Exhibition records
Exhibit scripts
Contact sheets
Photographic prints
Correspondence
Place:
Washington Metropolitan Area
Date:
1942-1998
Summary:
These records document the planning, organizing, execution, and promotion of an exhibition exploring the immigration of people of African descent from Central and South America and the Caribbean to the Washington Metropolitan Area. The show was organized and hosted by the Anacostia Museum from August 21, 1994 through August 7, 1995. Materials include correspondence, research files, exhibit script, administrative records, brochures, press coverage, education packets, loan agreements, floor plans, and catalogues.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the Black Mosaic exhibition presented by the Anacostia Community Museum measure 21.6 cubic feet and date from 1942 to 1998, with the bulk of material dating from 1990 to 1995. The records include administrative records, publications, research files, floor plans, exhibit text drafts, oral history transcripts, and project files for programs coordinated for or tangentially with the Black Mosaic Exhibit.

Administrative records include advisory board member lists, meeting minutes, agendas, grant proposals, project reports and assessments, correspondence, training material for museum volunteers and docents, and assorted notes. Publications within the series directly relate to the Black Mosaic Exhibit and the Anacostia Community Museum. Correspondence includes both internal correspondence and those with local community members.

Writings and notes were previously scattered throughout the collection have been collocated within the Administrative Records series, and a majority are undated. The notes cover topics ranging from administrative activities to exhibit and research planning. Included are printed documents, scrap paper, and spiral-bound notebooks.

The research files contain background information about numerous immigrant communities within Washington D.C. The community research files were originally organized by country, continent, or region of origin, and then later by subjects that coordinated with the exhibit's designated themes. This organization method has largely been maintained. Research files include scholarly articles, news clippings, event programs, compiled bibliographies, and material related to the study of museology.

The exhibit files include floor plan layouts, photocopies of images, interview transcripts, exhibit literature, and extensive exhibit text drafts. Drafts of the exhibit's text include notes throughout multiple editing stages. Additionally, copies of flip books for different thematic sections of the Black Mosaic exhibit are included and are organized alphabetically by title. Other exhibit literature present is primarily in English with one French copy present.

The project files include training material for collecting oral histories and documenting community folklife, conference records, event records, and records pertaining to related projects at the Anacostia Community Museum. Concurrent projects supporting the exhibit include the Black Mosaic community newsletter and an educational curriculum project. Additional project records that thematically overlap with the Black Mosaic exhibit but extend beyond the timeframe of the formal exhibit are present also.
Arrangement:
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D.C. exhibition records are arranged in four series:

Series 1: Administrative Records

Series 2: Research Files

Series 3: Exhibit Files

Series 4: Project Files
Historical Note:
The exhibit Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D.C. was curated by the Anacostia Community Museum's supervisory curator Portia James, and was open at the Anacostia Community Museum from August 1994 to August 1995. The exhibition explored the immigration of people of African descent from South America, Central America, and the Caribbean to the Washington Metropolitan Area.

Topics addressed in the exhibition include migration, situations faced by Black immigrants, the maintenance of relationships with places of origin, community events and cultural performances, public and private expressions of culture, commodification of culture for economic support, and the expression of multiple identities. Some intentions of the exhibit were to provide forums for discussing culture and identity, provide resources for people learning about communities in the Washington Metro area, and to be a model to other museums and cultural institutions for understanding and interpreting similar immigration and settlement patterns.

The exhibit was designed to be experienced with broader cultural concepts being introduced towards the external part of the exhibit, while personal stories could be experienced further in. Over 100 oral history interviews featured prominently in the exhibit where interviewed individuals explained their immigration experience and how they've adapted to life in the area. The exhibit also included mounted photographs, artifacts, music, and conversations. Artifacts included passport photos, tickets, family photographs, and letters. The exhibit's text displayed in three languages: English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. There were additional exhibition guides provided in Brazilian Portuguese, French, and the Ghanaian languages of Ga, Twi, Akan, and Ewe.

Coupled with the exhibit, the museum coordinated an extensive series of programs to engage various communities in the exploration of issues and traditions. These programs included creating newsletters and a photograph exhibit to keep the community up to date about the progression of the exhibit, working with performance groups, creating multi-institutional partnerships in order to develop more effective methods of collecting oral histories, and collaborating and modeling for the CFPCS African Immigrant Communities project.
Provenance:
Records of Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity Among Black Immigrants in Washington, D.C. Exhibition were created by the Anacostia Community Museum.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
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.
Topic:
Immigrants -- United States -- Exhibitions  Search this
Museum exhibits  Search this
Genre/Form:
Transcripts
Color slides
Exhibition records -- 1990-2004
Exhibit scripts
Contact sheets
Photographic prints
Correspondence
Citation:
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
ACMA.03-027
See more items in:
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records
Archival Repository:
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa769b48dcf-5b93-4db2-b89e-3e4819fb8f55
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-acma-03-027
Online Media:

Evaluating the relationship between the museum and its communities.

Author:
Freudenheim, Tom  Search this
Anacostia Museum  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1990
Citation:
Freudenheim, Tom and Anacostia Museum. 1990. Evaluating the relationship between the museum and its communities. [presentation].  Anacostia Museum.
Identifier:
144174
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_144174

Prolegomena to a future non-metaphysical collections policy for Afro-American history and culture

Author:
Stewart, Jeffrey  Search this
Anacostia Museum  Search this
Object Type:
Smithsonian staff publication
Year:
1988
Citation:
Stewart, Jeffrey and Anacostia Museum. 1988. Prolegomena to a future non-metaphysical collections policy for Afro-American history and culture [presentation].
Identifier:
144176
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:slasro_144176

Interview: John Dale [Part 1]

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museums Collections and Research  Search this
Type:
Interviews
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2014-03-27T13:40:39.000Z
YouTube Category:
People & Blogs  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
Anacostia_Community_Museums
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museums Collections and Research
YouTube Channel:
Anacostia_Community_Museums
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_ZOVCpWSFZwM

Board Banquet at Smithsonian Commons

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museums Collections and Research  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2014-03-27T13:26:56.000Z
YouTube Category:
People & Blogs  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
Anacostia_Community_Museums
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museums Collections and Research
YouTube Channel:
Anacostia_Community_Museums
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_e6hzvJ1aaZ8

Here At The Smithsonian: Contemporary Expressions

Creator:
Smithsonian Institution Archives  Search this
Type:
Conversations and talks
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2021-02-22T20:20:59.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Museum administration  Search this
See more by:
SIArchives
Data Source:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
YouTube Channel:
SIArchives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_9syry4IhSzc

Installation of the ACM Advisory Board, Part 1

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2023-05-25T20:18:45.000Z
YouTube Category:
Nonprofits & Activism  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianAnacostia
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museum
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianAnacostia
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_fWSyXxIFCV0

Anacostia Museum Pilot Partnership Project

Collection Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Container:
Box 15, Folder 27
Type:
Archival materials
Text
Date:
1995
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
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.
Collection Citation:
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records / Series 4: Project Files / Project Records
Archival Repository:
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7b6eaa0bf-d4dc-42d8-9d1a-44f2298cb018
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-acma-03-027-ref1220

Interview: John Dale, Part 1

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Type:
Interviews
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2023-05-25T20:11:05.000Z
YouTube Category:
Nonprofits & Activism  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianAnacostia
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museum
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianAnacostia
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_S-m80ijM2Fw

Duke Ellington Collection

Creator:
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this
Names:
Duke Ellington Orchestra  Search this
Washingtonians, The.  Search this
Ellington, Mercer Kennedy, 1919-1996 (musician)  Search this
Strayhorn, Billy (William Thomas), 1915-1967  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Musical History  Search this
Extent:
400 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Phonograph records
Papers
Photographic prints
Posters
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Music
Clippings
Awards
Audiotapes
Place:
New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century
Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- 20th century
Washington (D.C.) -- 20th century
Date:
1903 - 1989
Summary:
The collection documents Duke Ellington's career primarily through orchestrations (scores and parts), music manuscripts, lead sheets, transcriptions, and sheet music. It also includes concert posters, concert programs, television, radio, motion picture and musical theater scripts, business records, correspondence, awards, as well as audiotapes, audiodiscs, photographs, tour itineraries, newspaper clippings, magazines, caricatures, paintings, and scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
Dating approximately from the time Duke Ellington permanently moved to New York City in 1923 to the time the material was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1988, the bulk of the material in the Duke Ellington Collection is dated from 1934-1974 and comprises sound recordings, original music manuscripts and published sheet music, hand-written notes, correspondence, business records, photographs, scrapbooks, news clippings, concert programs, posters, pamphlets, books and other ephemera. These materials document Ellington's contributions as composer, musician, orchestra leader, and an ambassador of American music and culture abroad. In addition, the materials paint a picture of the life of a big band maintained for fifty years and open a unique window through which to view an evolving American society.

The approximate four hundred cubic feet of archival materials have been processed and organized into sixteen series arranged by type of material. Several of the series have been divided into subseries allowing additional organization to describe the content of the material. For example, Series 6, Sound Recordings, is divided into four subseries: Radio and Television Interviews, Concert Performances, Studio Dates and Non-Ellington Recordings. Each series has its own scope and content note describing the material and arrangement (for example; Series 10, Magazines and Newspaper Articles, is organized into two groups, foreign and domestic, and arranged chronologically within each group). A container list provides folder titles and box numbers.

The bulk of the material is located in Series 1, Music Manuscripts, and consists of compositions and arrangements by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and other composers. Series 6, Sound Recordings also provides a record of the performance of many of these compositions. The materials in Series 2, Performances and Programs, Series 3, Business Records, Series 8, Scrapbooks, Series 9, Newspaper Clippings, Series 11, Publicity and Series 12, Posters provide documentation of specific performances by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Ellington was a spontaneous and prolific composer as evidenced by music, lyrical thoughts, and themes for extended works and plays captured on letterhead stationery in Series 3, Business Records, in the margin notes of individual books and pamphlets in Series 14, Religious Materials and Series 15, Books, and in the hand-written notes in Series 5, Personal Correspondence and Notes.

During its fifty-year lifespan, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra were billed under various names including The Washingtonians, The Harlem Footwarmers and The Jungle Band. The soloists were informally called "the band", and Series 3 includes salary statements, IOU's, receipts and ephemera relating to individual band members. Series 1, Music Manuscripts contains the soloists' parts and includes "band books" of several soloists (for example; Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges) and numerous music manuscripts of Billy Strayhorn. The changing role of Strayhorn from arranger hired in 1938 to Ellington's main collaborator and composer of many well-known titles for Duke Ellington and His Orchestra including "Take The A' Train" and "Satin Doll" can be traced in these music manuscripts. Series 7, Photographs and Series 2, Performances and Programs contain many images of the band members and Strayhorn. This Collection also documents the business history of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Series 3, Business Records contains correspondence on letterhead stationery and Series 11, Publicity contains promotional material from the various booking agencies, professional companies, and public relations firms that managed the Orchestra.

The materials in the Duke Ellington Collection provide insight into public and institutional attitudes towards African Americans in mid-twentieth-century America. The business records in Series 3 beginning in 1938 and published sheet music in Series 1 depict Duke Ellington's progression from an African-American musician who needed "legitimization" by a white publisher, Irving Mills, to a businessmen who established his own companies including Tempo Music and Duke Ellington, Incorporated to control his copyright and financial affairs. Programs from the segregated Cotton Club in Series 2, Performances And Programs and contracts with no-segregation clauses in Series 3: Business Records further illustrate racial policies and practices in this time period. The public shift in perception of Duke Ellington from a leader of an exotic "Jungle Band" in the 1930s to a recipient of the Congressional Medal Of Freedom in 1970 is evidenced in Series 2, Performances And Programs, Series 12, Posters, Series 7, Photographs and Series 13, Awards. Reviews and articles reflecting Ellington's evolving status are also documented in Series 8, Newspaper Clippings, Series 9, Scrapbooks, Series 10, Newspaper and Magazine Articles.

The materials in the Duke Ellington Collection reflect rapid technological changes in American society from 1923-1982. Sound recordings in Series 6 range from 78 phonograph records of three minutes duration manufactured for play on Victrolas in monaural sound to long-playing (LP) phonograph records produced for stereo record players. Television scripts in Series 4, programs in Series 2 and music manuscripts (for example, Drum Is A Woman) in Series 1 demonstrate how the development of television as a means of mass communication spread the Orchestra's sound to a wider audience. The availability of commercial air travel enabled the Ellington Orchestra to extend their international performances from Europe to other continents including tours to Asia, Africa, South America and Australia and archival material from these tours is included in every series.

Series 4, Scripts and Transcripts and Series 6, Audio Recordings contain scripts and radio performances promoting the sale of United States War bonds during World War II, and Series 7, Photographs includes many images of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra's performances for military personnel revealing the impact of historic events on Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Series 2: Programs and Performances, Series 9, Newspaper clippings and Series 8, Scrapbooks document the 1963 Far East tour aborted as a result of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The Duke Ellington Collection contains works by numerous twentieth-century music, literature, and art luminaries. Series 1, Music Manuscripts contains original music manuscripts of William Grant Still, Eubie Blake, Mary Lou Williams, and others. Series 4, Scripts and Transcripts contains a play by Langston Hughes, and Series 12, Posters contains many original artworks.
Arrangement:
Series 1: Music Manuscripts, circa 1930-1981, undated

Series 2: Performances and Programs, 1933-1973, undated

Series 3: Business Records, 1938-1988

Series 4: Scripts and Transcripts, 1937-1970

Series 5: Personal Correspondence and Notes, 1941-1974, undated

Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1927-1974

Series 7: Photographs, 1924-1972, undated

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1931-1973

Series 9: Newspaper Clippings, 1939-1973, undated

Series 10: Magazine Articles and Newspaper Clippings, 1940-1974

Series 11: Publicity, 1935-1988

Series 12: Posters and Oversize Graphics, 1933-1989, undated

Series 13: Awards, 1939-1982

Series 14: Religious Material, 1928-1974

Series 15: Books, 1903-1980

Series 16: Miscellaneous, 1940-1974
Biographical / Historical:
A native of Washington, DC, Edward Kennedy Ellington was born on April 29, 1899. Edward was raised in a middle-class home in the Northwest section of Washington described by his sister Ruth--younger by sixteen years--as a "house full of love." Ellington himself wrote that his father J.E. (James Edward) raised his family "as though he were a millionaire" but Edward was especially devoted to his mother, Daisy Kennedy Ellington. In 1969, thirty-four years after his mother's death, Ellington accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom with these words, "There is nowhere else I would rather be tonight but in my mother's arms." Both his parents played the piano and Ellington began piano lessons at the age of seven, but like many boys he was easily distracted by baseball.

In his early teens, Ellington sneaked into Washington clubs and performance halls where he was exposed to ragtime musicians, including James P. Johnson, and where he met people from all walks of life. He returned in earnest to his piano studies, and at age fourteen wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag" also known as "Poodle Dog Rag." Ellington was earning income from playing music at seventeen years of age, and around this time he earned the sobriquet "Duke" for his sartorial splendor and regal air. On July 2, 1918, he married a high school sweetheart, Edna Thompson; their only child, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, was born on March 11, 1919. Duke Ellington spent the first twenty-four years of his life in Washington's culturally thriving Negro community. In this vibrant atmosphere he was inspired to be a composer and learned to take pride in his African-American heritage.

Ellington moved to New York City in 1923 to join and eventually lead a small group of transplanted Washington musicians called "The Washingtonians," which included future Ellington band members, Sonny Greer, Otto Hardwicke and "Bubber" Miley. Between 1923 and 1927, the group played at the Club Kentucky on Broadway and the ensemble increased from a quintet to a ten-piece orchestra. With stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith as his unofficial guide, Ellington soon became part of New York's music scene; Smith proved to be a long-lasting influence on Duke's composing and arranging direction. At the Club Kentucky, Ellington came under the tutelage of another legendary stride pianist, "Fats" Waller. Waller, a protege of Johnson and Smith, played solos during the band's breaks and also tutored Ellington who began to show progress in his compositions. In November 1924, Duke made his publishing and recording debut with "Choo Choo (I Got To Hurry Home)" released on the Blu-Disc label. In 1925, he contributed two songs to Chocolate Kiddies, an all-black revue which introduced European audiences to black American styles and performers. By this time Ellington's family, Edna and Mercer, had joined him in New York City. The couple separated in the late 1920's, but they never divorced or reconciled.

Ellington's achievements as a composer and bandleader began to attract national attention while he worked at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, from 1927 to 1932. The orchestra developed a distinctive sound that displayed the non-traditional voicings of Ellington's arrangements and featured the unique talents of the individual soloists. Ellington integrated his soloists' exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, their high-squealed trumpets, their sultry saxophone blues licks and Harlem's street rhythms into his arrangements. In the promotional material of the Cotton Club, the band was often billed as "Duke Ellington and His Jungle Band." With the success of compositions like "Mood Indigo," and an increasing number of recordings and national radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club, the band's reputation soared.

The ten years from 1932 to 1942 are considered by some major critics to represent the "golden age" for the Ellington Orchestra, but it represents just one of their creative peaks. These years did bring an influx of extraordinary new talent to the band including Jimmy Blanton on double bass, Ben Webster on tenor saxophone, and Ray Nance on trumpet, violin and vocals. During this ten year span Ellington composed several of his best known short works, including "Concerto For Cootie," "Ko-Ko," "Cotton Tail," "In A Sentimental Mood," and Jump For Joy, his first full-length musical stage revue.

Most notably, 1938 marked the arrival of Billy Strayhorn. While a teenager in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Strayhorn had already written "Lush Life," "Something To Live For" and a musical, Fantastic Rhythm. Ellington was initially impressed with Strayhorn's lyrics but realized long before Billy's composition "Take the A' Train" became the band's theme song in 1942 that Strayhorn's talents were not limited to penning clever lyrics. By 1942, "Swee' Pea" had become arranger, composer, second pianist, collaborator, and as Duke described him, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine." Many Ellington/Strayhorn songs have entered the jazz canon, and their extended works are still being discovered and studied today. Strayhorn remained with the Ellington Organization until his death on May 30, 1967.

Ellington had often hinted of a work in progress depicting the struggle of blacks in America. The original script, Boola, debuted in Carnegie Hall in November of 1943, retitled Black, Brown and Beige. The performance met with mixed reviews, and although Ellington often returned to Carnegie Hall the piece was never recorded in a studio, and after 1944 was never performed in entirety again by the Ellington Orchestra. Nonetheless, it is now considered a milestone in jazz composition.

After World War II the mood and musical tastes of the country shifted and hard times befell big bands, but Ellington kept his band together. The band was not always financially self-sufficient and during the lean times Ellington used his songwriting royalties to meet the soloists' salaries. One could assign to Ellington the altruistic motive of loyalty to his sidemen, but another motivation may have been his compositional style which was rooted in hearing his music in the formative stage come alive in rehearsal. "The band was his instrument," Billy Strayhorn said, and no Ellington composition was complete until he heard the orchestra play it. Then he could fine tune his compositions, omit and augment passages, or weave a soloist's contribution into the structure of the tune.

In 1956, the American public rediscovered Duke and the band at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. The searing performances of tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves on "Diminuendo and Crescendo In Blue," his premiere soloist, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges on "Jeep's Blues", and the crowd's ecstatic reaction have become jazz legend. Later that year Duke landed on the cover of Time magazine. Although Ellington had previously written music for film and television (including the short film, Black and Tan Fantasy in 1929) it wasn't until 1959 that Otto Preminger asked him to score music for his mainstream film, Anatomy of a Murder, starring Jimmy Stewart. Paris Blues in 1961, featuring box-office stars Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier in roles as American jazz musicians in Paris, followed.

Ellington's first performance overseas was in England in 1933, but the 1960s brought extensive overseas tours including diplomatic tours sponsored by the State Department. Ellington and Strayhorn composed exquisite extended works reflecting the sights and sounds of their travels, including the Far East Suite, 1966. They wrote homages to their classical influences; in 1963, they adapted Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and celebrated Shakespeare's works with the suite Such Sweet Thunder in 1957. With Ella Fitzgerald, they continued the Norman Granz Songbook Series. Ellington also began to flex his considerable pianist skills and recorded albums with John Coltrane (1963), Coleman Hawkins (1963), Frank Sinatra, and Money Jungle (1963) with Charles Mingus and Max Roach. The First Sacred Concert debuted in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral in 1965. In his final years, Ellington's thoughts turned to spiritual themes and he added a Second (1968) and Third (1973) Concert of Sacred Music to his compositions.

In his lifetime, Duke received numerous awards and honors including the highest honor bestowed on an American civilian, the Congressional Medal Of Freedom. In 1965, Ellington was recommended for a Pulitzer Prize to honor his forty years of contribution to music but the recommendation was rejected by the board. Most likely he was disappointed, but his response at the age of sixty-six was, "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young."

Ellington never rested on his laurels or stopped composing. Whenever he was asked to name his favorite compositions his characteristic reply was "the next five coming up," but to please his loyal fans Ellington always featured some of his standards in every performance. Even on his deathbed, he was composing the opera buffo called Queenie Pie.

Duke Ellington died on May 24, 1974 at seventy-five years of age. His funeral was held in New York's Cathedral of St. John The Divine; he was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. His long-time companion Beatrice "Evie" Ellis was buried beside him after her death in 1976. He was survived by his only child, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, who not only took up the baton to lead the Duke Ellington Orchestra but assumed the task of caring for his father's papers and his legacy to the nation. Mercer Ellington died in Copenhagan, Denmark on February 8, 1996, at the age of seventy-six. Ruth Ellington Boatwright died in New York on March 6, 2004, at the age of eighty-eight. Both Mercer and Ruth were responsible for shepherding the documents and artifacts that celebrate Duke Ellington's genius and creative life to their current home in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

William H. Quealy Collection of Duke Ellington Recordings (AC0296)

Rutgers University Collection of Radio Interviews about Duke Ellington (AC0328)

Duke Ellington Oral History Project (AC0368)

Duke Ellington Collection of Ephemera and realated Audiovisual Materials (AC0386)

Annual International Conference of the Duke Ellington Study Group Proceedings (AC0385)

Robert Udkoff Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0388)

Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Prints (AC0389)

New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society Collection (AC390)

Earl Okin Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0391)

William Russo Transcription and Arrangement of Duke Ellington's First Concert of Sacred Music (AC0406)

Ruth Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0415)

Music manuscripts in the Ruth Ellington Collection complement the music manuscripts found in the Duke Ellington Collection.

Carter Harman Collection of Interviews with Duke Ellington (AC0422)

Betty McGettigan Collection of Duke Ellington Memorabilia (AC0494)

Dr. Theodore Shell Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0502)

Edward and Gaye Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0704)

Andrew Homzy Collection of Duke Ellington Stock Music Arrangements (AC0740)

John Gensel Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0763)

Al Celley Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC1240)

Materials at Other Organizations

Institute of Jazz Studies
Separated Materials:
Artifacts related to this collection are in the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) and include trophies, plaques, and medals. See accessions: 1989.0369; 1991.0808; 1993.0032; and 1999.0148.

"
Provenance:
The collection was purchased through an appropriation of Congress in 1988.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original and master audiovisual materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Copyright restrictions. Consult the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Paul Ellington, executor, is represented by:

Richard J.J. Scarola, Scarola Ellis LLP, 888 Seventh Avenue, 45th Floor, New York, New York 10106. Telephone (212) 757-0007 x 235; Fax (212) 757-0469; email: rjjs@selaw.com; www.selaw.com; www.ourlawfirm.com.
Occupation:
Composers -- 20th century  Search this
Topic:
Big bands  Search this
Pianists  Search this
Bandsmen -- 20th century  Search this
Jazz -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Musicians -- 20th century  Search this
Music -- Performance  Search this
African American entertainers -- 20th century  Search this
African Americans -- History  Search this
Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
African American musicians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Phonograph records
Papers
Photographic prints
Posters
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks -- 20th century
Music -- Manuscripts
Clippings
Awards
Audiotapes
Citation:
Duke Ellington Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0301
See more items in:
Duke Ellington Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep850a376a1-6b6d-48bc-9076-cffef76fea2c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0301
Online Media:

Interview: John Dale, Listing of Anacostia Residents [Part 2]

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museums Collections and Research  Search this
Type:
Interviews
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2014-03-27T13:37:33.000Z
YouTube Category:
People & Blogs  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
Anacostia_Community_Museums
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museums Collections and Research
YouTube Channel:
Anacostia_Community_Museums
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_0YHpbG7vatk

Dr. Richard Mudd lectures at the Anacostia Neighborhood [Community] Museum

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museums Collections and Research  Search this
Type:
Lectures
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2014-03-27T14:33:16.000Z
YouTube Category:
People & Blogs  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
Anacostia_Community_Museums
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museums Collections and Research
YouTube Channel:
Anacostia_Community_Museums
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_Y832ZLdc3HY

Interview: John Dale, Part 3

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Type:
Interviews
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2023-05-25T20:13:51.000Z
YouTube Category:
Nonprofits & Activism  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianAnacostia
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museum
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianAnacostia
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_dpNqIC_rfkI

Interview: John Dale, Part 2

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Type:
Interviews
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2023-05-25T20:15:10.000Z
YouTube Category:
Nonprofits & Activism  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianAnacostia
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museum
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianAnacostia
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_pLJZiYh-bxw

Business Meeting - Black Museums

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2023-05-25T20:11:47.000Z
YouTube Category:
Nonprofits & Activism  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianAnacostia
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museum
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianAnacostia
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_38rY0GF0zXA

Dr. Richard Mudd lectures at the Anacostia Neighborhood [Community] Museum

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Type:
Lectures
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2023-05-25T20:08:12.000Z
YouTube Category:
Nonprofits & Activism  Search this
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianAnacostia
Data Source:
Anacostia Community Museum
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianAnacostia
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_8Ze95rnrzsY

Oral history interview with Steven C. Newsome

Interviewee:
Newsome, Steven C., 1952-2012  Search this
Names:
Newsome, Steven C., 1952-2012  Search this
Collection Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Extent:
1 Sound cassette
Type:
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Oral histories (document genres)
Place:
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1991 December 17
Scope and Contents note:
Steven Newsome, the second director of the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum), and successor to John Kinard, discusses the purpose and impact of the museum, and how it has changed over time. He describes how the museum has aligned more with the Smithsonian Institution, and how it now serves an international audience, while remaining devoted to the local community. He describes the "call and response" relationship the museum has with the neighborhood, where, for example, if the community asks for guidance in researching genealogy, the museum will sponsor genealogy workshops. He describes the museum as having become more academically grounded and focused on more diverse audiences. 

The interview was conducted on December 17, 1991. There is background static, but the interview can be heard clearly throughout.
Biographical / Historical:
Steven C. Newsome (1952-2012) attended Trinity College and Emory University. He served as the Chief for the Office of Cultural and Educational Services, Division of History and Cultural Program, Department of Housing and Community Development in Annapolis, Maryland, the director of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, and as the Executive Director of the Maryland Commission on Afro-American History and Culture, before becoming the director of the Anacostia Museum from 1990 to 2004. In this role, he oversaw a renovation of the museum facilities and raised $8.5 million to support it. He created an annual summer academy for children and launched a national collecting initiative for the museum through the exhibit Precious Memories. After retiring from the Anacostia Museum, he became Executive Director of Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council, and founding director of Prince George's County African American Museum and Cultural Center.  He also served on many boards of cultural organizations in the Washington DC area, including the American Association of Museums, Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, and the Maryland Humanities Council, and also served a term as President of the Mid-Atlantic Museums Association. 
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, which includes approximately 100 interviews of residents and influential people of the Anacostia area of Washington, DC.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Genre/Form:
Oral histories (document genres)
Collection Citation:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
ACMA.09-034, Item AV001520
See more items in:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project
Archival Repository:
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa73a3ea857-627b-4a79-a26c-c8c72060718c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-acma-09-034-ref106

Interview with Esther Nighbert

Interviewer:
Lowe, Gail Sylvia  Search this
Interviewee:
Nighbert, Esther  Search this
Names:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Anacostia Museum  Search this
Anacostia Neighborhood Museum  Search this
Carver Theater (Washington, DC)  Search this
Cooper's Restaurant  Search this
Youth Advisory Council (Anacostia Museum)  Search this
Anderson, Stanley J.  Search this
Archer, Audrey  Search this
Blitzer, Charles  Search this
Bryant, Barbara  Search this
Dale, Almore M., 1911-1984  Search this
Gibson, Charles  Search this
Jessup, Georgia Mills, 1926-2016  Search this
Jones, Altman  Search this
Kinard, John, 1936-1989  Search this
Marsh, Caryl  Search this
Martin-Felton, Zora  Search this
Morris, Carol  Search this
Nighbert, Esther  Search this
Prue, Alvin Eugene  Search this
Tyler, Edgar (Tiny)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Extent:
1 Sound cassette (original)
1 Sound cassette (copy)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Oral histories (document genres)
Place:
Adams Morgan (Washington, D.C.)
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1992 September 1
Scope and Contents note:
Esther Nighbert discusses her involvement with the Anacostia Community Museum from its opening in 1967 through 1972. She describes her role and her work, including serving as a secretary for John Kinard, assisting him with editing and re-writing various publications, and the various ways she provided support to the museum. She discusses the museum's impact on the neighborhood, its relationship with the Smithsonian Institution, and its influence nationally and internationally. She recollects various exhibits, events, youth programs, and the many individuals involved in managing, developing, and advising the museum. The interview was conducted by Gail S. Lowe on September 1, 1992. Periodically, there is some minor background noise. The interviewee can be heard clearly throughout the recording.

Exhibitions mentioned: The Rat: Man's Invited Affliction, This Thing Called Jazz.
Biographical / Historical:
Esther Nighbert (1912-2004) was born in Hazelton, PA. She graduated from Emerson College in Boston and authored Handbook on Creative Dramatics. She lived in Washington DC for a time and served as a secretary to John Kinard at the Anacostia Museum from its opening in 1967 through 1972. She moved to Gainesville, FL in 1976. She was awarded the Eleanor Gordon Award for Lifetime Service to Unitarian Universalist Ideals and Humanist of the Year from the Florida Humanist Association. She was a member of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, served on the national board for INFACT, and was a member of United Farm Workers Ministry and Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice. 
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, which includes approximately 100 interviews of residents and influential people of the Anacostia area of Washington, DC.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
Civil rights  Search this
Community museums  Search this
Genre/Form:
Oral histories (document genres)
Collection Citation:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
ACMA.09-034, Item AV001518, AV001681
See more items in:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project
Archival Repository:
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7831645d1-9f82-4683-a9ef-cb6f1842ee2c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-acma-09-034-ref111

Oral history Interview with Rowena Stewart

Interviewer:
Lowe, Gail Sylvia  Search this
Names:
African American Museum in Philadelphia  Search this
African American Museums Association  Search this
African Meetinghouse (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Anacostia Museum  Search this
Anacostia Neighborhood Museum  Search this
Carver Theater (Washington, DC)  Search this
National Center of Afro-American Artists. Museum  Search this
Parting Ways, the Museum of Afro-American Ethnohistory (Plymouth, Mass.)  Search this
Rhode Island Black Heritage Society  Search this
The Boston Group  Search this
Hutchinson, Louise Daniel  Search this
Kinard, John, 1936-1989  Search this
Martin-Felton, Zora  Search this
Ripley, S. Dillon (Sidney Dillon), 1913-2001  Search this
Stewart, Rowena, 1932-  Search this
Collection Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Extent:
1 Sound cassette (original)
1 Sound cassette (copy)
Culture:
African Americans  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Oral histories (document genres)
Place:
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1992 May 11
Scope and Contents note:
Rowena Stewart, former Director of the African American Museum in Philadelphia, The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, the African American Historical and Cultural Museum, and the Motown Historical Museum and the American Jazz Museum, discusses the influence the Anacostia Community Museum had in introducing African American heritage in a museum setting, in serving the Anacostia neighborhood, and in supporting other emerging African American cultural institutions in the 1960s and 1970s. She discusses meeting John Kinard, and the guidance he provided in presenting history through exhibitions and educational programs. She shares her memories of the early days of the Anacostia Museum, the effects of its move from the Carver Theater to the current location, and its ongoing influence.

The interview was conducted by Gail S. Lowe on May 11, 1992. There is background static throughout the recording, but the interview can be heard clearly.

Exhibition mentioned: The Rat: Man's Invited Affliction.
Biographical / Historical:
Rowena Stewart (1932-2015) served as director for four major African American historical museum societies between 1975 and 2002. She was the first director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society in Providence. Then she served as the Director and Curator of the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia. In 1992, she moved to Detroit to be the Director for the Motown Historical Museum. She later moved to Kansas City, Missouri, to oversee the development of the American Jazz Museum, becoming its executive director upon its completion in 1997. She retired and moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 2002. During this time, she served as President of the A.L. Lewis Historical Society Board, Coordinator of the American Beach Community Center and Museum, and worked as a consultant to museums. 
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, which includes approximately 100 interviews of residents and influential people of the Anacostia area of Washington, DC.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Topic:
Social responsibility of business  Search this
Civil rights  Search this
Community museums  Search this
Genre/Form:
Oral histories (document genres)
Collection Citation:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
ACMA.09-034, Item AV001519, AV001627
See more items in:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project
Archival Repository:
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7e4506e5d-6821-47bc-a08c-6b2eec8e9996
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-acma-09-034-ref141

Oral history interview with Riddick Vann

Names:
Carver Theater (Washington, DC)  Search this
Hutchinson, Louise Daniel  Search this
Ripley, S. Dillon (Sidney Dillon), 1913-2001  Search this
Vann, Riddick  Search this
Collection Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Extent:
1 Sound cassette (original)
1 Sound cassette (copy)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Oral histories (document genres)
Place:
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1991 July 16
Scope and Contents note:
Riddick Vann, a former Exhibit Designer for the National American History Museum, discusses how he came to serve on a committee to develop the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum). He describes how the committee came to select the Carver Theater as the site, John Kinard as the director, and the many other topics they considered. He recalls how the museum affected and impacted the Anacostia neighborhood upon opening. In remembering people who influenced the museum's development, he highlights the tremendous work of Louise Hutchinson, the historian who researched and presented the exhibits, and John Kinard, the first director. He comments on the experimental nature of the museum, and how its success influenced museums around the country. 

The interview was conducted on July 16, 1991. There is background noise throughout the record, but the interviewee can be heard clearly throughout.
Biographical / Historical:
Riddick Vann (1930-2022) graduated from the Howard University School of Architecture. He worked as an Assistant Professor for the School of Architecture and Planning, teaching Museum Design and Architectural Photography. He designed the University Museum for the Moorland Spingarn Research Center, and was a tennis coach at the University of the District of Columbia. He worked at the Smithsonian Institution National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of American History`, the Anacostia Museum, and the National Museum of Natural History, with over 30 years of service. He also served as the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Ward 4A04 (Brightwood, DC) November 1992-2002. 
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, which includes approximately 100 interviews of residents and influential people of the Anacostia area of Washington, DC.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Genre/Form:
Oral histories (document genres)
Collection Citation:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
ACMA.09-034, Item AV001531, AV001663
See more items in:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project
Archival Repository:
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa74dfa59ac-6483-40a1-bc8d-da0f709dee54
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-acma-09-034-ref146

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By