National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1949
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 1942
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of Sophy Stanton to the Smithsonian Institution, 1923
Curtis Ward spoke about his parents and his siblings, growing up on a small farm in a rural area in Jamaica, the businesses his father managed, primary school and high school, discipline in the school and in the community, and where he worked before he left Jamaica to attend Howard University.
Ward spoke about his experiences when he first arrived in the United States, as a student at Howard University for undergraduate study and law school, working for the embassy of Jamaica, leaving civil service, and establishing a law practice. He also talked about his involvement within the Jamaican community in Washington, DC area, including his time as president of Jamaican Nationals Association; working as taxicab driver; his wife and children, including how he disciplined his children and their Jamaican heritage pride; the feeling of freedom when stepping off plane in Jamaica; cooking Jamaican style food at home; his various residence statuses in the United States; music, including Bob Marley and reggae music, and warning labels on records; influence of Jamaicans and Rastafarians on the community; legacy of Marcus Garvey; discrimination of Jamaicans and stereotyping of Jamaicans in the United States; his thoughts on the television show "Going to Extremes"; immigration reform under Reagan and its impact; and the importance of family and Jamaican culture.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include very loud white noise and static, and some sound distortions / voices distorted. Interviewee can be heard and voices are intelligible for most of the interview.
General:
Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives. The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
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.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Patrick Hylton explained he came to the United States from Jamaica in 1968 to attend Howard University, and how Howard University was a "hub" for the civil rights movement.
Hylton described the geography, social and political environment, living conditions, quality of life, race, and racism in Jamaica and the Caribbean. His explanation included how prime minister Hugh Shearer and later prime minister Michael Manley governed the country, the banning of Walter Rodney from the country, demonstrations, and comparisons and contrasts between Jamaica and the United States. He spoke about the effects of colonialism on Africans and people of the African diaspora.
Hylton spoke in detail about Marcus Garvey, and the formation and history of the Rastafarian movement, including Haile Selassie, Leonard P. Howell and the Dreadlocksomes, Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert and the Combsomes, Archibald Dunkley, beliefs, police violence against Rastafarians, and the mythical belief of "black heart man", later personified by the Rasta man. He described the violence, discrimination, and oppression Rastafarians experienced; the visit to Ethiopia by a Rastafarian delegation, organized by Norman Manley, to meet Haile Selassie; and Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica.
Hylton also spoke about his involvement in the civil rights movement in Jamaica and in the United States; what he witnessed in courtrooms as an attorney; plays and poems he wrote; development and history of reggae, ska, rocksteady and dancehall music; and the evolution of music as a whole.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static, and a little background noise; interviewee's voice is soft and difficult to hear at times.
General:
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
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.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Patrick Hylton spoke about how he became involved in the music scene in Washington, DC; a description and the evolution of reggae, including the instruments used, in the Washington, DC region and internationally; why he decided to come to Washington, DC; why he applied to Howard University; how he supported himself financially while attending Howard University; returning to Jamaica for about 5 years after he finished school in the United States; and why he returned to the United States again; plays he wrote; his law practice and political action work; and his wife and children. He identified himself as a Caribbean citizen, American citizen, and citizen of the world.
Hylton explained the relationship between Rastafarianism and reggae music; the history and relationship of ska, rocksteady, dancehall, and reggae music; the relationship between culture, everyday life, and music with descriptive examples; how and why music changes over time, illustrating changing economic, political, and social conditions; music comes from the people; and the role and purpose of music in people's lives. He also discussed crime and the posse; and racial, ethnic, and national origin discrimination.
Hylton stated he writes plays and uses music in the plays, including his current work on a reggae musical. He talked about the lewd and vulgar content, and lack of creativity in current music; and explained there is nothing for him to learn from current music.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include very loud white noise and static; loud background noise, including people talking and sirens; and a little sound distortion. Interviewee's voice is difficult to hear at times.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
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.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
