Claudine K. Brown, American, 1949 - 2016 Search this
Asbury United Methodist Church, American, founded 1836 Search this
Medium:
digital
Dimensions:
Duration: 85 min. (5100 sec.)
Total: 7400 MB
Type:
oral histories
digital media - born digital
Place depicted:
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Germany, Europe
Date:
2018
Description:
An oral history interview of Smithsonian volunteer and Regent Jeannine Smith Clark, conducted on August 7, 2018 by Kelly Elaine Navies. The interview consists of one digital MOV video file captured on Canon 300, with a duration of 1:25:08. The file is 7.4 GB.
In this interview, Ms. Clark discusses her life and work in Washington, DC, as well as her storied family history. The first part of the interview covers her early family life and education in Washington, DC. Her family has been in Washington, DC at least since the early 19th century. Her parents were the activist and business couple John Archibald and Lorena Jackson Smith. Clark attended DC’s historically prestigious Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, and later Howard University, where she met her husband, Charles Howell Clark, MD. She describes their meeting in this interview.
The second half of the of the interview covers her various roles at the Smithsonian from being one of the very first African American docents when she started in 1968 in the midst of the Poor People’s Campaign, to being the first African American woman appointed to the Board of Regents. She also discusses being the Chair of the Women’s Committee and a founding member of the Cultural Education Committee. Towards the end of the interview, Ms. Clark reflects on the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Finally, Ms. Clark was in failing health during the interview and knew that she would be leaving this life soon. She passed away one day before her 90 birthday on October 4, 2018.