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Catalog Data

Creator:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Names:
Anacostia Community Museum  Search this
Extent:
2 Video recordings (MiniDV)
Type:
Archival materials
Video recordings
Interviews
Place:
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Washington (D.C.)
United States
Date:
2011
Scope and Contents:
Entrepreneur Juanita Britton talks about her early entrepreneurial pursuits; traveling to Seoul, South Korea when she was 17; traveling overseas when she was a graduate student at Howard University; securing a job working with the state department so she could work with indigenous cultures overseas; the Anacostia Arts Gallery; Busy Bee Gift and Holiday Show at Shiloh Baptist Church in Anacostia; launching Red Bird water cleaning system in Senegal; and the importance of culture. Britton, who grew up in a middle class Detroit neighborhood, began her entrepreneurial pursuits selling lemonade at age 10 and expanding the business to 6 different corners by the age of 14. She held bake sales and built a relationship with the mayor so she could travel to Seoul, South Korea as an exchange student at the age of 17, and organized a reception for President Mugabe of Zimbabwe when she traveled overseas as a graduate student. Working with indigenous cultures overseas, Britton helped indigenous people sell goods at fair trade value, and she wanted as many people as possible to travel to Africa to see indigenous cultures and that life was fine in Africa. While visiting Anacostia in southeast Washington, D.C., Britton stumbled upon a house which she transformed into an art gallery and artistic community center. She was active in the Anacostia community taking neighborhood children on field trips. Britton speaks of the importance of spending time and mentoring children. She organized 78 Busy Bee Gift and Holiday Shows at the Shiloh Baptist Church over a 20-year period. Britton speaks of specific stories of artists and their successes, and teaching young people about business and entrepreneurship while they are working with her on the craft shows. Britton talks about the villages in Senegal in which she will launching Red Bird water cleaning systems; she states she figured out a way to transport the machine between communities in a single day so the communities will have clean water every day. Britton also talks about marketing events; how she brings culture into the corporate shops which she owns; East of the River artists including BK Adams; the development of an arts district in Anacostia; and the importance of involving the current community in the development. Britton - nicknamed 'Busy Bee' since she was a child - explains how her multitasking and networking abilities. Britton talks about her love of culture; anything different or unique; personal adornments; and learning other languages; and others' perceptions of culture and things that are different or unique.
Interview. Dated 20110302.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. 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.
Topic:
African Americans  Search this
Businesswomen  Search this
African American businesspeople  Search this
Civic leaders  Search this
Communities  Search this
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Interview with Juanita Britton, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
ACMA.01-007.16, Item ACMA AV005210
See more items in:
Community and Creativity Project Records
Community and Creativity Project Records / Series 2: Oral History Interviews
Archival Repository:
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa70034785d-2bf2-453a-a45c-23d66256b62e
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-acma-01-007-16-ref108