Revisiting Our Black Mosaic Symposium - Welcome Remarks
Description:
Revisiting Our Black Mosaic Symposium The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, hosted a full day of discussions on race, immigration, gentrification, education, museums, and community in the Washington D.C. metro area on September 19, 2014. Welcome Remarks (in order of appearance) Blair Ruble, Vice President for Programs, Woodrow Wilson Center Camille Akeju, Director, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Portia James, Supervisory Curator and curator of 1994 Black Mosaic exhibition, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Dr. Ariana A Curtis, Curator of Latino Studies and event organizer, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum BACKGROUND: The program references the museum’s 1994 landmark exhibition Black Mosaic, a multicultural, multilingual exhibition which examined race, nationality, and ethnicity of black immigrants in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. 20 years have passed since the Black Mosaic exhibition, and in that time both the local and national contexts have changed. Formerly predominately “Black” cities, like Washington, D.C., are changing in demographic composition. Immigration is a hotly debated national issue. Latinos have come to outnumber African-Americans as the largest minority in the United States. Native-born Black populations are declining while African immigrant populations have hit an all-time high. To address these important topics the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, hosted a full day of discussions on race, immigration, gentrification, education, museums, and community in the Washington D.C. metro area. Revisiting Our Black Mosaic Symposium September 19, 2014 9:00am – 4:30pm Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center One Woodrow Wilson Plaza - 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004-3027 The Revisiting Our Black Mosaic Symposium received financial support from: • Anacostia Community Museum • Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars • Latino Initiatives Pool, a federal fund administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center • National Museum of African American History and Culture • Smithsonian Consortium for Understanding the American Experience • Smithsonian Consortium for Valuing World Cultures
