The oral histories in this collection were conducted as part of the research for an exhibition exploring the history of neighborhood change and civic activism in the nation's capital. Focused on the dynamic histories of six DC neighborhoods—Adams Morgan, Anacostia, Brookland, Chinatown, Shaw and Southwest—the exhibition recounted the story of these communities through the eyes of the Washingtonians who helped shape and reshape the city in extraordinary ways. The exhibit was organized by the Anacostia Community Museum and curated by Samir Meghelli. The audio and video interviews were conducted between 2016-2018.
Scope and Contents:
In the early twenty-first century, as Washington, DC was experiencing rapid population growth, mounting tensions over gentrification, and persistent inequality, the Anacostia Community Museum's "A Right to the City" exhibition explored the history of neighborhood change and civic activism in the nation's capital. Focused on the dynamic histories of six DC neighborhoods—Adams Morgan, Anacostia, Brookland, Chinatown, Shaw and Southwest—the exhibition recounted the story of these communities through the eyes of the Washingtonians who helped shape and reshape the city in extraordinary ways: through their fights for quality public education, healthy and green urban spaces, equitable development and transportation, and a genuinely democratic approach to city planning. The oral histories that comprise this collection were conducted as part of the research for the exhibition. The audio and video interviews were conducted between 2016-2018.
Provenance:
"A Right to the City" Exhibition were created by the Anacostia Community Museum.
Records of "A Right to the City" 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.
An exhibition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Anacostia Community Museum, formerly known as the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, organized by the museum and held there September 15, 2007 through November 9, 2008. The exhibit explored the development of community life of neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, beginning with the original inhabitation by Native Americans up to the present.
Scope and Contents note:
These records document the planning, organizing, execution, and promotion of the exhibition. Materials include research files, compact disc, and photo copies.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
The papers of historian Henry P. Whitehead measure 156.91 linear feet and date from 1843 to 2010 (bulk 1945-1986). The collection documents Whitehead's careers, as well as his family and personal life. The collection also includes the personal papers of Tomlinson D. Todd, Elizabeth B. Delaney and the Howard Theatre Foundation. The combined collection is comprised of black theatrical memorabilia; materials relating to civil rights activities in the District of Columbia; and the African American experience in general. Included are playbills, sheet music, admission tickets, newspapers, magazines, books, photographs, clippings, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, sound recordings, research files, and other material.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of historian Henry P. Whitehead measure 156.91 linear feet and date from 1843 to 2010 (bulk 1945-1986). The collection includes the personal papers of Henry P. Whitehead, Tomlinson D. Todd, Elizabeth B. Delaney and the Howard Theatre Foundation. The collection is divided into four series.
Series I focuses on Whitehead and includes papers dating from 1843 to his death in 2011. This series includes biographical material including a large amount of appointment books, identification and membership cards, resumes, certificates, and personal and family material.
There is a limited amount of correspondence, which focuses on his personal relationships with family, friends, and general correspondence relating primarily to his work as a local historian.
Also found within Whitehead's papers are countless records from his time employed by the Washington DC government. Materials include memoranda, notes, research material, handbooks, guides, manuals, affirmative action info and records, affirmative action plans, promotion recommendations, recruitment plans and summaries, personnel files (complaints), civil actions and reports related too Whitehead's 37 years of government employment. It reflects the activities of numerous departments, primarily in regards to employment and affirmative action.
There are also a number of files that document Whitehead's involvement in numerous community organizations. Among the organizations in which Whitehead was involved include U Street Festival, Lincoln Corporation, and the U Street Theater Foundation. The papers of the U Street Foundation document the production and establishment of the annual U Street Festival. The Lincoln Theater Foundation and the U Street Theater Foundation papers document the efforts to reopen the Lincoln Theater. Also included are Whitehead's research on the Lincoln as well as old Lincoln Theatre programs. Additionally found within this series are documents and clippings on the economic development within Washington DC particularly in the Shaw/U Street location.
The majority of this series consists of printed material. Printed material in this series includes books, clippings, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, press releases, sheet music, programs as well as promotional material for several Washington DC theaters and organizations. There is a large quantity of theater programs dating from 1900-1986. The majority of the clippings and magazines are theater related topics, coupled with a miscellaneous selection of clippings on topics that presumably captured Whitehead's attention.
Research, notes and writings include a large amount of scrapbooks compiled by Whitehead of mostly photocopied clippings documenting Washington DC history, African American theater history, and general African American history. Five scrapbooks were compiled by an unknown source and were previously housed in the New York Public Library collection. Two scrapbooks are about general theater history one about Frances Starr and one about Margaret Anglin. There is also one scrapbook pertaiing to Mae Hall. Also included are a large amount of research notes and notebooks along with general miscellaneous notes.
There are several photographs of African Americans in the performing arts as well as images of Washington DC and several unidentified men, women, and children.
Audio recordings include 23 cassette from the Alexandria Church of God.
The remainder of the collection consists of the papers of Tomlinson D. Todd, Elizabeth B. Delaney, and those about the Howard Theatre.
The Howard Theatre papers are arranged in Series II and include documents relating to the Washington DC historic Howard Theatre and date from 1910 to 1986. The papers in this series predominantly document the Howard Theatre Foundation's efforts to reestablish and run the Howard Theatre in which Whitehead was the vice president. Records include business correspondence, founding documents, photographs, memoranda, press releases, member lists, financial records, clippings, and scrapbooks of clippings pertaining to the organization and theatre.
The correspondence in the collection include a handful of letters from the Washington DC government along with individuals and organizations. Also included is a large amount of interoffice memoradums.
Administrative records include lawsuits, resolutions, meeting minutes, grant proposals, press releases, memoranda, member lists, studies and reports.
Financial records include check stubs, receipts, invoices, bank statements, expenses, and contribution lists.
Printed material includes original and photocopied clippings relating to the history and coverage of the foundation activities. Mostly promotional material as flyers, brochures, and press releases along with programs. In particular two 1920 Howard Theatre programs.
The scrapbooks of original and photocopied clippings compiled by Whitehead chronicle the history of the theatre and coverage of the foundation activities.
There are three VHS cassette featuring Whitehead discussing the Howard Theatre. Also found in series 2 are numerous stock investment record books belonging to A.E. Lichtman one of the early managers of the Howard Theatre. In addition early correspondence between Lichtman and the Rex Amusement Company concerning operational management issues of the Howard Theatre.
The Tomlinson D. Todd papers are arranged in Series III and date from 1902-1986 they include organization files, collected printed materials, subject files, and personal papers.
The collection includes materials relating to organizations in which there was a relationship to Todd's work and in which he had an interest primarily during the 1940s and 1950s, organizations include the National Negro Congress (ca, 1946-1947); the Congress for Industrial Organizations (1943-1947); National Council of Negro Women (1947-1949); Committee for Racial Democracy in the Nation's Capital (1947-1948).
The subject files include documents from three of Todd's organizations; Institute on Race Relation, Club Internationale, and his radio program "Americans All". As well as printed material from Todd's alma mater Lincoln University.
The largest subject file is "Americans All" which includes radio scripts as well as audio recording of a few programs and public service announcements. Also found are several black and white photographs of Todd at the radio studio.
Printed materials include newspapers, leaflets, convention proceedings, and flyers, There are a large amount of programs ranging from church worship to convention as well as performance.
Also present is a small amount of personal papers, including resumes, certificates, admission tickets, family documents, and travel ephemera from his all expense paid trip to Nigeria.
There are a few photographs of Todd at functions and with notable individuals as well as some family, friends and travel.
Elizabeth's B. Delaney papers are arranged in Series IV and date from 1874-1973.
The papers primarily document her involvement in four organizations, the Grand Oder of Odd Fellow of Kentucky, the Order Eastern Star Kentucky, the State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs of Kentucky and the National Association of Colored Women. There is a small amount of printed material belonging to her son primarily the Alpha Phi Alpha material and Gospel Choral Sheet Music, and books.
The Scrapbook was complied by Whitehead consisting of photocopied clipping documenting the life of Elizabeth B. Delaney.
Arrangement note:
This collection is arranged into four series:
Series 1: Henry P. Whitehead papers
Series 2: Howard Theatre
Series 3: Tomlinson D. Todd
Series 4. Elizabeth B. Delaney
Biographical/Historical note:
Henry Preston Whitehead Jr., was a native of Columbus Ohio. A graduate of Ohio State University, where he also attended law school and was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Mr. Whitehead discovered Washington's "Black Broadway" in 1940, when he was a soldier in town on a weekend furlough. As he served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II. Prior to moving to Washington DC Henry P. Whitehead worked for five years as a liquor inspector. Mr. Whitehead moved to Washington D.C. in 1949 and worked for the Post Office before working for the District of Columbia government where he stayed 21 years. He led several equal employment initiatives during the 1960s and 1970s, and was last employed as associate director of the District's Office of Human Rights. In 1980 after putting in 37 years of government service Mr. Whitehead retired.
Mr. Whitehead was an historian who led efforts to restore Washington's U Street cultural corridor and achieved recognition as an authority on and collector of black theatrical memorabilia. Mr. Whitehead worked to promote and preserve the city's rich African American cultural heritage.
Mr. Whitehead, served as the chairman and president for 10 years of the Howard Theater Foundation Inc., which he helped establish. There he led the effort to include Howard Theatre in the National Register of Historic Places.
Similarly he was an active member of the U Street Festival Foundation. He was an adviser to the Kennedy Center, Anacostia Museum, and other Smithsonian Institution units and contributed materials to their exhibitions. He was also a consultant to historical documentaries broadcast on public television and radio, including PBS's "Duke Ellington's Washington." His writings included "Remembering U Street," a book used for annual festivals in the historic area.
Mr. Whitehead was also the founder and board member of the Lincoln Theatre Foundation.
Henry P. Whitehead Jr. died on January 8th 2002 at the age of 84.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Anacostia Community Museum on September 1, 2005 by Michael A. Watkins.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
The Henry P. Whitehead collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1978 Festival of American Folklife. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.
Arrangement note:
Arranged in 10 series.
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: Chesapeake Bay Traditions
Series 3: Children's Folklife
Series 4: Coal Miners & Oil Workers
Series 5: D.C. Folklore
Series 6: Folklife in the Museum: A Nation of Nations
Series 7: Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery
Series 8: Mexican & Mexican American Traditions
Series 9: Other Programs
Series 10: San Juan Pueblo Culture
Historical note:
The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998.
The 1978 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Folklife Program of the Office of American and Folklife Studies and cosponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Introduction:
With the 1978 Festival, the Smithsonian began a five-year cycle of variations on the theme of "community," exploring folklore as the artistic expression of community life, and the pleasure and dignity found in that process. When the Smithsonian Folklife Program staff decided to use "community" as the theme of the 1978 presentation, they were not grafting an idea onto the Festival, but featuring an aspect of the Festival that had been present throughout its history. Folklore consists of the traditional ways in which community people work and play together, and their customary forms of entertaining and instructing each other. Community is composed of people meeting regularly who have inherited or developed ways of celebrating their sense of coming together.
"Community" had been involved in the past eleven festivals in many ways. For communities - whether inherited or joined - serve as a vital buffer between individuals and a world of megastates and megacorporations. They are more manageable units in which all can participate - men and women, young and old - and give some living proof of Schumacher's notion that "small is beautiful." Festival organizers sought to reaffirm that humans are important, and that we are, like plants and other animals, dependent upon communities for survival.
As with the preceding year, the 1978 Festival (October 4-9) was held on a site on the National Mall later to be occupied by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, between 14th and 15th Streets and between Constitution Avenue and Madison Drive (see site plan). Indoor activities took place in the National Museum of History and Technology, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Renwick Gallery. The San Juan Pueblo programs took place outside of the National Museum of Natural History. As had been the case in 1977, Festival programming in the museums sought to connect objects on exhibit with people who could demonstrate, explain, or comment upon them; programming was again marked by collaboration between Folklife Program staff and museum curators. Festival programs included:
Missing Title
Chesapeake Bay Traditions
Children's Folklife
Coal Miners & Oil Workers
D.C. Folklore
Folklife in the Museum: A Nation of Nations (including presentations on Ellis Island, Dunham School,family folklore, sleeping car porters, and a wheelwright)
Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery (featuring presentations on Mexican masks and on musicalinstruments)
Mexican & Mexican American Traditions
Other Programs (featuring organ-building in the Hall of Musical Instruments and sharecroppers in the Hallof Everyday Life in the American Past)
San Juan Pueblo Culture
The 1978 Program Book provided information on each of the programs, including a schedule and participant lists.
The 1978 Festival was again co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, McDonald's Washington Area Family Restaurants, and the Music Performance Trust Funds. It was organized by the Folklife Program within the Office of American and Folklife Studies.
Folklife Advisory Council
Wilcomb E. Washburn, Chairman, Roger Abrahams, Richard Ahlborn, Richard Dorson, William Fitzhugh, Lloyd Herman, Robert Laughlin, Scott Odell, Bernice Reagon, Ralph Rinzler, E. Richard Sorenson
Folklife Program, Office of American and Folklife Studies
Ralph Rinzler, Director; Jeffrey LaRiche, Program Coordinator; Peter Seitel, Senior Folklorist; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Ethnomusicologist; Susan Kalcik, Folklorist; Steve Zeitlin, Folklorist; Jack Santino, Folklorist; Frank Proschan and Richard Derbyshire, Archivists
National Park Service
William J. Whelan, Director; Manus J. Fish, Jr., Regional Director, National Capital Region
Fieldworkers and presenters:
Héctor Aguíñiga, Holly Baker, Karen Baldwin, Charles Camp, Susan G. Davis, Hazel Dickens, Jason Dotson, Ben Evans, Alicia González, Richard Haefer, Charlotte Heth, Marjorie Hunt, Amy Kotkin, Maria La Vigna, Phyllis May, Pat Mullen, Salvador Ortega, Keith Rollinson, Daniel Sheehy, Nick Spitzer, Peggy Yocom, Jean Alexander, Kate Rinzler, George McDaniels
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Forms Part Of:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1978 Festival of American Folklife forms part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival records .
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: Papers
1967 Festival of American Folklife records - [Ongoing]
Related Archival Materials note:
Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
The papers of contemporary Color Field painter and educator Sam Gilliam measure 7.9 linear feet and date from 1957 to 1989. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, business records, printed material, subject files, a scrapbook, artwork, and photographic material that document Gilliam's life beginning as a student, through to his teaching, professorial, and artistic career based in Washington D.C. The collection highlights Gilliam's close involvement with the art institutions, racial politics, and artistic innovation from the 1960s through the 1980s, and particularly showcases the planning and creation of Gilliam's large-scale three-dimensional paintings, often associated with the Washington Color School.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of contemporary Color Field painter and educator Sam Gilliam measure 7.9 linear feet and date from 1957 to 1989. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, business records, printed material, subject files, a scrapbook, artwork, and photographic material that document Gilliam's life beginning as a student, through to his teaching, professorial, and artistic career based in Washington D.C. The collection highlights Gilliam's close involvement with the art institutions, racial politics, and artistic innovation from the 1960s through the 1980s, and particularly showcases the planning and creation of Gilliam's large-scale three-dimensional paintings, often associated with the Washington Color School.
Biographical material includes résumés, passports, exhibition lists, artists' statements and essays, interview transcripts and recordings. Also included are audio recordings of conversations between Sam Gilliam and artist Benny Andrews, between Gilliam and artist Rockne Krebs, as well as recordings of a 1968 interview conducted by Dorothy Gilliam.
Correspondence spans over 20 years and includes letters to and from museums and galleries such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, Carl Solway Gallery, collectors, artists including David Driskell, friends, family, students, and fans.
Writings include notes, statements, and essays by and about Gilliam, writings by university students of Gilliam, and writings related to Gilliam's artwork and public commissions including measurements for artworks, material research, and information regarding prints created for the private home of Walter Mondale.
Business records primarily include the daily records of activities kept by Sam and Dorothy Gilliam's secretary, Debby, from 1973 to 1978. Also present are resumes for a studio assistant for Gilliam, certificates of originality, legal documents, receipts and invoices, a record of donated paintings, financial records, ledgers, contracts, records and paperwork for the Gilliam's company Enterprise 101, and miscellany.
Printed materials include photocopies, exhibition announcements, magazines, and clippings regarding exhibitions, specific artworks, and commissions, and Gilliam and/or his then-wife, Dorothy Gilliam.
The subject file series contains letters, photographic material, business records, sketches, and printed materials concerning specific galleries, public art commissions, arts organizations, workshops, teaching positions, Gilliam's studio, art suppliers, and other topics.
A disbound scrapbook contains photographs, notes, and printed material related to Gilliam and his studio practice.
The artwork series includes sketches, personal notes, and small preparatory drawings by Gilliam.
Photographic material includes negatives, slides, and transparencies of artworks, Gilliam in his studio, and Gilliam and staff preparing museum and gallery exhibition spaces. Also included are records of student artwork, and photos and slides of artwork sent to Gilliam by students and aspiring artists.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1958-1988, (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-1989, (Boxes 1-2; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1962-1988, (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Business Records, 1957-1986, (Boxes 2-3; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1962-1987, (Boxes 3-4; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 6: Subject Files, 1963-1988, (Boxes 4-7; 2.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Scrapbook, 1958-1968, (Box 7; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 8: Artwork, 1970-1980, undated, (Boxes 7-9; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographic Material, 1960-1985, (Boxes 8-9; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) was an African American artist based in Washington, D.C. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where he began painting as a child, eventually attending the University of Louisville where he received his B.A. in Fine Art and M.A. in Painting. He went on to teach art to high school students in the Washington D.C. public school system, and university-level students at the Corcoran School of Art, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the University of Maryland, and Carnegie Mellon University. His numerous grants and awards include the 1971 Solomon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and multiple Honorary Doctoral degrees.
As an artist, Gilliam is best known for his three-dimensional draped and suspended paintings, covered with large fields of poured paint, pigment, and colorful staining influenced by the movement and colors of Abstract Expressionist painters. He created many public works that incorporated new materials such as custom designed metal forms, quilted canvas, and textiles; his works often included subtle social commentaries through their titling. His suspended paintings cemented Gilliam as an innovative and influential presence in 20th century American art.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Sam Gilliam, one conducted by Kenneth Young, September 18, 1984, and the other by Ben Forgey, November 4-11, 1989.
Provenance:
The Sam Gilliam papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Sam Gilliam in 1989.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Sam Gilliam. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
The Henry P. Whitehead collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
The Henry P. Whitehead collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1977 Festival of American Folklife. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.
Arrangement note:
Arranged in 9 series.
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: African Diaspora Street Culture
Series 3: America's Appetite (for Energy)
Series 4: Folklife in the Museum: Hall of Musical Instruments
Series 5: Folklife in the Museum: A Nation of Nations
Series 6: Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery
Series 7: Native American Musical Styles
Series 8: Other Programs
Series 9: Virginia Folk Culture
Historical note:
The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998.
The 1977 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Folklife Program of the Office of American and Folklife Studies and cosponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Introduction:
As early as 1974, managers within the Smithsonian had wondered what to do after the Bicentennial Festival - return to the pattern of smaller Folklife Festivals that had preceded, expand its scope to a Smithsonian Summer Festival that would present popular artistic forms as well, or discontinue it and focus on curating the research and Festival documentation. In the immediate wake of the Bicentennial Festival, plans were proposed for Ralph Rinzler to become head of a new, unnamed folklife unit that would process the documentary materials developed by the Festival and produce scholarly and educational publications. James R. Morris and the Division of Performing Arts would continue to produce the Festival. A broader Smithsonian Summer Festival was accordingly announced for 1977. However, a newly-constituted Folklife Advisory Council decided instead that the Festival's emphasis on traditional cultural should continue, but that the Festival should be moved to the fall and should be more closely integrated with the activities of relevant units of the Smithsonian, especially within the National Museum of History and Technology and National Museum of Natural History. A Folklife Program was established under Rinzler's direction, attached to the Office of American and Folklife Studies headed by Wilcomb E. Washburn (also chair of the Folklife Advisory Council).
The 1977 Festival was thus held October 5-10, on a site within the National Mall later to be occupied by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, between 14th and 15th Streets and between Constitution Avenue and Madison Drive (see site plan). Additional outdoor activities were held on the terrace of the National Museum of History and Technology, and indoor activities took place in that museum, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Renwick Gallery. The Division of Performing Arts continued to provide overall technical support for the Festival, but each program component was curated by a different team, typically including cooperation between a Folklife Program folklorist and a curator within another Smithsonian museum (see the individual programs for the specific units collaborating on each presentation). Programming was originated by museum staff, then reviewed by the Advisory Council, to broaden the base of staff involvement in the research, planning, and presentation of this and other folklife endeavors.
The Festival featured several larger and numerous smaller programs; documentation of the 1977 Festival is divided into eight series:
Missing Title
African Diaspora Street Culture
America's Appetite (for Energy)
Folklife in the Museum: Hall of Musical Instruments (including presentations of hammered dulcimers andmusical traditions of India)
Folklife in the Museum: A Nation of Nations (including presentations of saddle making, Dunham Schoollore, Ellis Island & immigrant lore, pencil making, baseball bat turning, ethnic foods, Hispanic crafts)
Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery (including presentations of paint on wood and crafting withnatural fibers)
Native American Musical Styles
Other Programs (including presentations of transportation, folklore in your community, family folklore,Louisiana Cajun social music)
Virginia Folk Culture
The 1977 Program Book provided information on each of the programs.
The Festival was jointly presented by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, National Council for Traditional Arts, and Music Performance Trust Funds. The 1977 Festival resulted from cooperation among a number of entities; those with overall responsibility included:
Folklife Advisory Council
Wilcomb E. Washburn, Chairman, Roger Abrahams, Richard Ahlborn, Robert H. Byington, Richard Dorson, William Fitzhugh, Lloyd Herman, Robert Laughlin, James Morris, Scott Odell, Bernice Reagon, Ralph Rinzler, E. Richard Sorenson
Folklife Program, Office of American and Folklife Studies
Ralph Rinzler, Director; Robert H. Byington, Deputy Director; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Ethnomusicologist; Susan Kalcik, Ethnic Folklore Specialist; Frank Proschan, Archivist; Steve Zeitlin, Family Folklore Specialist; Jack Santino, Occupational Folklore Specialist; Mike Herter, Documentation Coordinator; Jeffrey LaRiche, Energy Program Coordinator
Division of Performing Arts
James R. Morris, Director; Rosie Lee Hooks, African Diaspora Program Coordinator; African Diaspora Program Cultural Historian, Bernice Reagon; Shirley Cherkasky, Production Coordinator
National Park Service
William Whelan, Director
In addition, persons and bodies responsible for individual programs are identified in the relevant series note.
Fieldworkers, presenters, and curators:
Carl Scheele, William Sturtevant, Scott Odell, Eugene Knez, Nancy Groce, Holly Baker, Amy Kotkin, Karen Peiffer, Paul Wagner, William Foshag, James Leary, Diane Hamilton, Winifred Brendel, Robert Vogel, Richard Ahlborn, Roddy Moore, Chuck Perdue, Peter Row, Arnold Burghardt, Charlotte Heth, William Powers, Elaine Eff, Robert McCarl, Peter Seitel
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Forms Part Of:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1977 Festival of American Folklife forms part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival records .
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: Papers
1967 Festival of American Folklife records - [Ongoing]
Related Archival Materials note:
Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
