43 Linear feet (35 document boxes and 39 oversize boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Date:
circa 1750-2009
bulk 1880-1960
Summary:
The Charlene Hodges Byrd collection measures 43 linear feet, and dates from circa 1750-2009, with the bulk of the material dating from 1880-1960. The collection documents the personal life and professional career of Charlene Hodges Byrd, an African American teacher from Washington, D.C., along with material for several related families from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Family members prominently represented include Sarah A. Shimm, teacher and essayist under the name Faith Lichen; her daughters Erminie F. Shimm and Grace E. Shimm Cummings, both teachers; and Byrd's mother, Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, also a teacher. Correspondence and writings chiefly discuss family life, religion, race, education, and the relationship with Frederick Douglass and his family. The collection is arranged in 10 series: Biographical Material, Correspondence, Writings, Subject Files, Financial and Legal Records, Printed Material, Volumes, Memorabilia, Textiles, and Photographs.
Scope and Contents:
Series 1. Papers related to biographical and family histories of the Byrd, Cummings, Davage, Dews, Hodges, Shimm, Spruill, and Thomas families. Material includes family trees; school diplomas and certificates; programs; awards; marriage and divorce papers; funeral documents; and obituaries.
Series 2: Chiefly letters from family and friends regarding family news, financial matters, school, work, neighborhood affairs, church events, travel and the weather. The majority of the letters are addressed to Charlene Hodges Byrd, Grace E. Shimm Cummings, Ida R. Cummings, Elizabeth Dews Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, Erminie F. Shimm, Sarah A. Shimm, and Elizabeth N. Thomas. Other correspondence includes letters from Booker T. Washington, Bessye Beardon, Charlotte Davage, Amelia Douglass, and Harrell S. Spruill. There are also a number of greeting cards, postcards, and empty envelopes.
Series 3. Writings include essays, speeches, papers written for school, teacher's notebooks, and a diary of Erminie F. Shimm, 1903. Topics include education, Frederick Douglass, religion, race, Africa, and the temperance movement.
Series 4. Subject files on Charlene Hodges Byrd's involvement with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Book Lovers of Charleston, West Virginia, a women's book club organized in 1923; Church Women United radio program; and The Links, Inc., a volunteer service organization. The papers on Liberia relate to missionary work, and were probably gathered by Erminie F. Shimm; and the Shimm-Thomas Collection are papers related to the deposit and later return of family items housed as a collection at Morgan State College.
Series 5. The financial and legal records include invoices and receipts, bank books, real estate tax assessments, deeds, and wills. There is also material related to the estate of Erminie F. Shimm.
Series 6. Printed materials includes books, pamphlets, newspapers, newsletters, clippings, invitations and programs. The books and pamphlets are chiefly school yearbooks and newspapers and other texts related to religion, politics, music, and poetry. Also included is a copy of Frederick Douglass's autobiography and a printed copy of his speech "The Race Problem." The clippings include obituaries, articles about Charlene Hodges Byrd and her husband Charles R. Byrd, essays by Sarah A. Shimm under the name Faith Lichen, and articles on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The invitations and programs are primarily for school graduations, weddings, social events, and funerals. Other printed material includes newsletters; business cards; calling cards; postage stamps, chiefly from Liberia; and blank postcards. The binder on Frederick Douglass was prepared by Byrd and her goddaughter for the West Virginia School Studies Fair, and includes copies of Byrd family artifacts.
Series 7. Autograph books, guest books, and scrapbooks. The autograph book of Grace E. Shimm Cummings includes autographs from Amelia Douglass, Lewis B. Douglass, Charles R. Douglass, W. H. Clair, and Francis J. Grimke. The scrapbook of Grace E. Shimm Cummings and Erminie F. Shimm consists primarily of clippings, and was assembled from an old teacher's book with a student registration and punishment pages still intact at the back.
Series 8. Miscellaneous items in the collection including artwork, a coin purse, a piece of handwoven cloth belonging to Catherine Nelson's great grandmother, and leather hair curlers.
Series 9: The textiles are chiefly christening gowns, children's garments, and an apron. Several garments belonged to Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, Charlene Hodges Byrd, and Elizabeth N. Thomas. There is also a doll that belonged to Amelia Douglass's niece, Kitty Cromwell.
Series 10. Photographs include pictures of Charlene Hodges Byrd, Joyce Ethel Hodges Cummings, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Dews Hodges, Charles Gilmor Cummings, Grace E. Shimm Cummings, Erminie F. Shimm, and other friends and relatives of the Byrd, Hodges, Cummings, Douglass, and Shimm families. Subjects are primarily portraits and candids, along with some wedding, baby, and school pictures. While some of the photographs are annotated, many of the individuals are unidentified. Included are vintage photographs, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visites, tintypes, daguerreotypes, and negatives.
Biographical / Historical:
The Shimm, Thomas, Cummings, Hodges, Davage, and related African American families chiefly lived in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Numerous family members worked as teachers, barbers, or in the service industry. They were active in local churches and service organizations, and had established friendships with local church leaders as well as with Frederick Douglass and his family.
The Shimm and Thomas families were located in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The Thomas family can be traced back to Philip Nelson, who owned property in Leesburg, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Family genealogical papers list Nelson as a descendent of British Admiral Horatio Nelson. This lineage, however, is not supported in publically available family histories of Horatio Nelson. Philip Nelson and his wife Araminta had five children: Catherine (b. 1805?), William, Levi (b. 1820?), Henrietta, and Grayson.
Catherine Nelson married Elias E. Thomas (b. 1816?) of Virginia in 1840. They wed in Philadelphia and had five children: Levi Nelson (b. 1841), Sarah (1843-1885), Edward (b. 1844), Elizabeth (1848-1932), and Charles (b. 1851).
Sarah Thomas married William Y. Shimm (b. 1841), a barber in Reading, Pennsylvania, on July 26, 1863. They had 2 daughters, Erminie (1867-1936) and Grace (1865-1910). The Shimms lived in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but had moved to Washington, D.C., around 1871. Sarah was a teacher and a writer who published under the name "Faith Lichen." Her writings, primarily essays and commentaries about race and politics, were printed in several newspapers including The National Republican, The Celtic Weekly, The People's Advocate, and The Sunday Morning Gazette.
Sarah's sister Elizabeth was also a teacher in Maryland. Her brother Charles was a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and a graduate of the first class at Howard University's law school.
Erminie and Grace Shimm became teachers in the Washington, D.C., public school system. Erminie was active in her church and supportive of missionary work in Liberia. Grace married Charles Gilmor Cummings, a pastor in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 9, 1902. They had one daughter, Joyce Ethel (1903-1971), and second child in 1905 who died in infancy. Grace died in 1910 of heart failure. After her death, Grace's sister Erminie and Charles's family helped raise Joyce Ethel in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland.
Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges graduated from Morgan College in 1924, and received her master's degree from Howard University in 1931. She taught at Douglass High School in Baltimore from 1924-1964. Joyce Ethel married Charles E. Hodges (1900--975) in 1927 and they divorced in 1953. The couple had one daughter, Charlene (1929-2009).
Charlene Hodges Byrd grew up in Washington, D.C., but attended the Northfield School for Girls in East Northfield, Massachusetts, for high school, graduating in 1946. She received her bachelor's degree from Connecticut College in 1950, and her master's degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago in 1951. She married Charles R. Byrd (1919-2004) in 1952. They had one son in 1954, but he died four days after birth. Byrd soon began a career as a teacher and education administrator, eventually working for Kanawha County Schools in Charleston, West Virginia. She was also active in her local community as a member of the Book Lovers of Charleston, West Virginia; Church Women United; and The Links, Inc.
Charles E. Hodges was born Bridgewater, Virginia, where his father was a minister. He graduated from Morgan College in 1923 and received his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1943. He was a teacher and served as principal of the North Street School in Hagerstown, Maryland. After he and Joyce Ethel divorced in 1953, he married Elizabeth Dews (1913-1999) in 1955.
Elizabeth Dews Hodges, born Elizabeth Virginia Waumbeeka, was adopted by James Edward (1889-1954) and Sarah Virginia Dews (1888?-1964) in Washington, D.C., in 1920. She graduated from Miner Teachers College in 1939, and worked as a teacher in Annapolis, Maryland, at Wiley H. Bates High School for 34 years. She was awarded a medal for her work there by the Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge in 1959. Elizabeth was active in local organizations in Maryland and Washington, D.C., including the SE/NE Friends of the Capitol View Branch Library; Eastern Star Chapter 4; Mount Ephraim Baptist Church; National Museum of Women in the Arts; National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples; and the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.
The Davage family is descended from Sidney Hall (b. 1818?) and Charles Davage (b. 1815?). Sidney was a former slave at the Perry Hall mansion in Baltimore, and was manumitted by 1840. She married Charles, a coachman, on April 12, 1842. They had five children: Eliza Jane (1843-1913), Sophia (b. 1847), Charlotte (b. 1849), Charles (b. 1854), and Hester (b. 1845).
Their daughter Eliza Jane married Henry Cummings (b. 1830?). They had seven children: Harry Sythe (1866-1917), Charles Gilmor (1870-1924), William (b. 1882), Ida R. (1868-1958), Estelle (1874-1944), Carroll (b. 1875), Francis (b. 1872), and Aaron (1864?-1932).
Harry Sythe Cummings, a lawyer in Baltimore, became the city's first African American City Council member. He was first elected in 1890 and served intermittently until his death in 1917, often working on issues related to education. Cummings also delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention in 1904 seconding the presidential nomination of Theodore Roosevelt. He married Blanche Conklin in 1899, and they had three children: Harry S. Jr. (b. 1905), Lucille (d. 1906), and Louise.
Charles Gilmor Cummings graduated from Drew Theological Seminary in 1898, and was a pastor in Alexandria, Virginia and elsewhere. After the death of his wife Grace in 1910, he married Rosa Catherine Bearden, grandmother of artist Romare Bearden, in 1912.
Ida R. Cummings graduated from Morgan College in 1922, and was the first African American kindergarten teacher in Baltimore. She was also active in local organizations, and was president of the Colored Fresh Air and Empty Stocking Circle; chairman of the Woman's Section Council of Defense in Baltimore during the World War, 1914-1918; and president of the Woman's Campaign Bureau of the Colored Republican Voters' League of Maryland.
Provenance:
The Charlene Hodges Byrd collection was donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture by Herbert S. Garten, co-personal representative of the Estate of Charlene H. Byrd, in 2010.
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Citation:
Charlene Hodges Byrd collection, circa 1750-2009. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
This project received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Narrator Jim Vance presents a very short history of the Twelfth Baptist Church of Boston and the life of Reverend Leonard Grimes. The church's and reverend's work with the Underground Railroad and antislavery movement, and after the passing of Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 are highlighted. The arrests of Shadrach and Anthony Burns are also addressed. Members of the Twelfth Baptist Church wanted the right to bear arms as part of the Union Forces during the Civil War; William L. Garrison and Frederick Douglass argued for this right.
Narration only. Might be part of Climbing Jacob's Ladder Audiovisual Records. Production elements: AV003356 and AV003428 [narration]. AV003356: begins at 000115 [first minute of recording related to The Times of Richard Allen]. Undated.
Biographical / Historical:
Twelfth Baptist Church of Boston might be related to the Climbing Jacob's Ladder: The Rise of Black Churches in Eastern American Cities, 1740 - 1877 exhibition which explored the growth and central role of African American churches during the 18th- and 19th-centuries in the eastern United States: Boston, Savannah, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond. The exhibition was organized by the Anacostia Museum and held there from October 1987 to October 1988.;Twelfth Baptist Church of Boston was formed by a small group of dissentients who split from the First African Baptist Church in 1848. It served as an anti-slavery meetinghouse, and provided refuge and spiritual guidance to free blacks and fugitive slaves. Twelfth Baptist Church of Boston was also known as the Fugitives Church or the Church of the Fugitive Slave.;Reverend Leonard Grimes was pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church of Boston from 1848 to 1874. Born to free parents in Leesburg, Virginia, Grimes first became involved in the antislavery movement through his work with the Underground Railroad in Washington, D.C.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV003428
Series 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 at ACMarchives@si.edu.
An overview of the history of Anacostia from 1608 when Captain John Smith explored the region of the Chesapeake Bay and the Nacotchtank Indians to the establishment of small businesses, churches, and schools. Aspects included or discussed: first European settlers, slavery, tobacco, James Barry, establishment of Uniontown, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Congress Heights, establishment of Freedmen's Bureau, settlement of Barry Farms, Solomon G. Brown, community churches, small businesses and commercial enterprises, schools and public education, Frederick Douglass, opening of a bank in Anacostia, expansion of transportation and Suitland Parkway, fight for public services, and public housing.
Narration. Audio only. Related to exhibition 'The Anacostia Story.' Undated.
Biographical / Historical:
The exhibition 'The Anacostia Story' presented the history and development of Anacostia between 1608 and 1930 told through artifacts, photographs, early prints, documents and memorabilia. Well-known residents of the area, including Frederick Douglass, Elzie Hoffman, Dr. Charles Nichols, and Solomon G. Brown, were featured. The exhibition was organized by the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum and held there from March of 1977 to March 1978.
Series 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 at acmarchives@si.edu.
An overview of the history of southeast Washington, D.C. from the Nacotchtank Indians to the establishment of small businesses, churches, and public housing at Barry Farms. Aspects included Captain John Smith and first European settlers, slavery, tobacco plantations, establishment of Washington D.C. as the capital, James Barry, establishment of Uniontown, emancipation of slaves, establishment of Freedmen's Bureau, settlement of Barry Farms, Solomon G. Brown, community churches, small businesses and commercial enterprises, schools and public education, Frederick Douglass, opening of a bank in Anacostia, expansion of transportation and Suitland Parkway, and public housing.
Narration. Audio only. Related to exhibition 'The Anacostia Story.' Undated.
Biographical / Historical:
The exhibition 'The Anacostia Story' presented the history and development of Anacostia between 1608 and 1930 told through artifacts, photographs, early prints, documents and memorabilia. Well-known residents of the area, including Frederick Douglass, Elzie Hoffman, Dr. Charles Nichols, and Solomon G. Brown, were featured. The exhibition was organized by the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum and held there from March of 1977 to March 1978.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV001391_B
General:
Title transcribed from physical asset.
Series 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 at acmarchives@si.edu.
Older residents of Anacostia share their experiences and memories growing up and living in the once tight knit community, Anacostia, to provide evidence of Anacostia's history with goal of understanding the history of the community for present and future generations and with the theory that if man does not know where he came from, he/she cannot know here he/she is, and has no direction for the future. Martha Ellis reminiscences about her work at the public schools, particularly Birney School. Ruth Duckett, Ellis' daughter, talks about her work with the youth group at the Southeast House; when it was safe to sit outside and walk down the street; the portrayal of Anacostia in the newspapers and media; successful people who grew up in Anacostia and moved to other parts of the city and country; the baseball club Anacostia ACs; and ministers and movement of churches in the area. Churches mentioned by Duckett and other residents include Macedonia Baptist Church, St. Teresa's Catholic Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, and Campbell A.M.E. Church. Residents speak about Anacostia's rich heritage of people doing things - the craftsmen, construction workers, business people, and entrepreneurs - including sign painter, automobile painter, and artist Walter McKenzie; the fish man Mr. Chapman; the Greenwood family and their family business, Greenwood Transfer Moving and Storage Company; and the Taylor family, specifically Blakely Taylor, who were brick layers. They reminiscence about how everyone knew everyone, how everyone helped each other and the community thrive, when mothers stayed home and took care of children, when children participated in programs at the recreation center, when police had closer tie to community; and when it is so quiet, residents could hear cars go across the 11th street bridge. Residents also talk about the present: movement of people from different communities into Anacostia, younger Anacostians forced away because of zoning and no housing besides apartments, dirty streets, and violence. Overall, residents do not feel as if everything is bad in Anacostia; they just wish something would be done to fix the problems before they become worse.
Community Program. Filmed during exhibit Evolution of a Community with introduction by John Kinard (transcribed from physical asset AV003581) and moderated by Almore Dale. AV003581: Part 1. AV003088: Part 2. AV003550: Part 3, poor image quality. Part of Evolution of a Community Audiovisual Records. Dated 19720524. AV003383-3 and AV003383-4: sound only, content overlaps with video recordings, undated.
Biographical / Historical:
Evolution of a Community, an exhibit at the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum from January 1972 though December 1972, presented the history of Anacostia from post-World War II to the present through photos, text, drawings, video tape programs, and a slide/tape show. Evolution of a Community Part II, also known as Anacostia Today, was on display at the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum from March 1973 though July 1973. The exhibitions developed as a result oral histories collected from Anacostia residents.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV003088
ACMA AV003550
ACMA AV003383-3
ACMA AV003383-4
General:
Title transcribed from physical asset.
Series 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 at 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.
Down Memory Lane, Exhibition Records AV03-040, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, 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).
Footage of 'Frederick Douglass National Historic Site' sign and the exterior of the Frederick Douglass Memorial House. Title card for 'The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass.' This footage was used in the creation of 'Anacostia: Where We Live,' a product of the 1995 Lucy Moten Elementary School - Anacostia Museum partnership.
B-roll of unedited footage; title card. Related to exhibition 'Anacostia: Not the Same Old Story' and Moten Elementary School Audiovisual Materials 1994-1997 and 'Anacostia: Where We Live' [bib #387176]. Dated 19950501.
Biographical / Historical:
Held at the Anacostia Museum from June 17, 1995 to August 28, 1995, the exhibition - Anacostia: Not the Same Old Story (The Moten Elementary Collector's Exhibition) - was the result of a partnership between the museum and Lucy Ellen Moten Elementary School, located in Southeast Washington, D.C. Throughout the 1994-95 school year, the partnership offered the students of Moten the opportunity to study local history, experience musical performances and storytelling, conduct research, visit museums and cultural sites, create art, and document events through photography. The students produced photographs, poems, stories, drawings, interviews, and documents. The students' efforts were presented in the exhibition under the themes: Moten Elementary School, From Our Homes, Institutions and Organizations, and Community Life. The tentative exhibition title was 'Anacostia: Where We Live.' Anacostia Museum's formal partnership with Lucy E. Moten Elementary School began on November 20, 1992.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 72
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Portraits
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
No ink on negative. A copy negative of a half-portrait of Frederick Douglas. Portrait appears to be in an oval matte. "KODAK-SAFETY 74" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form:
Portraits -- African American men
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 77
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Scope and Contents:
No ink on negative. Frederick Douglass house in Anacostia. Ink on sleeve: "Copyright: Scurlock Studio. Original Negative Valuation/ {dollar}2,500." "Agfa Safety Film" edge imprint. Unnumbered.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Dr. Anna Cooper in parlor of 201 T Street, N.W., then the Registrar's Office of Frelinghuysen University [from group of negatives entitled "Dr. Anna J. Cooper in her garden, home & patio" : photonegative]
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 27
Type:
Archival materials
Retouching
Photographs
Date:
[ca. 1930]
Scope and Contents:
Job Number: 26806
In this image, Dr. Cooper stands near a desk with a phone and what appears to be a bust of Frederick Douglass. No accompanying contact print.
General:
From negative Box A. No edge marking on film edge. "26806 Dr. Anna J. Cooper / 2 8 x 10" in ink on film edge.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Mention of Frederick Douglass as "father of Civil Rights." A man talks about his experience teaching and states "there are no labels, that's what I've been talking about in schools . . . I'm tired of the people who did go to these children, who have destroyed their minds, who have said they love them, who have charged them to tell them how to hate."
Clip of broadcast recording. Part of Broadcast Programs. Broadcast from 002022-002122 [also on recording: Benjamin Banneker Park Dedication]. Dated 19711124.
Collection 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 at acmarchives@si.edu.
On the educational children's television program The Magic Door, Louise Hutchinson discusses the history of Anacostia from the Nacochtank Indians to Frederick Douglass. Discussion directed toward children and accompanied by illustrations, maps, photographs, and a short film of the Frederick Douglass home.
Television program from 000655 to 002517 (preceded by News Reports: John Kinard on the Selection of D.C. Superintendent and followed by Children Singing in Outdoor Concert). Part of Broadcast Programs. Dated 19731005.
Collection 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 at acmarchives@si.edu.
Narration that weaves together excerpts from a speech by Frederick Douglass from April 1883 on the anniversary of Emancipation in Washington, D.C. Douglass speaks about Emancipation, status and future of the negro, and prejudice despite freedom. He also states that negroes should be American citizens to the fullest extent, including the right to a fair trial, vote, serve on a jury, and attend public schools.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV003340
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.
To achieve these rights: the struggle for equality and self-determination in the District of Columbia, 1791–1978 exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
A clip from "Americans All" radio program broadcasted on February 12, 1950 in celebration of Frederick Douglass' birthday. Tomlinson Todd, leader of Institute on Race Relations, interviewed Mary Church Terrell, civil rights activist and friend of Douglass. Terrell spoke of her friendship with Douglass - how they met and visiting World's Fair in Chicago with Douglass. She proposed February 14 as Frederick Douglass day. Narration and radio program provides brief description of Todd, Terrell, Institute on Race Relations, and "Americans All."
Narration and radio broadcast clip for one of four displays used in exhibition: To Achieve These Rights: The Struggle for Equality and Self-Determination in the District of Columbia, 1791-1978. Part of To Achieve These Rights: The Struggle for Equality and Self-Determination in the District of Columbia, 1791-1978 Audiovisual Records. Dated 19920101.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV003342
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.
To achieve these rights: the struggle for equality and self-determination in the District of Columbia, 1791–1978 exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Narrator provides an overview of abolitionist Frederick Douglass' life, work, and spirit from his birth as a slave in Talbot County, Maryland to his death in Washington, D.C. Douglass' experiences with racial prejudice and segregation as well as his involvement in the Underground Railroad and civil rights movements, including women's rights, are explored. Douglass lived in New Bedford (Mass.), Rochester (N.Y.), the neighborhood of Anacostia in Washington, D.C., and England, where he fled for two years after writing "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" in 1845. Douglass and his son Frederick Jr. recruited black men for the Civil War while his sons Lewis and Charles joined the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. While championing many reform causes, Douglass worked alongside William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, Blanche Kelso Bruce, John Mercer Langston, Francis Cardozo, and May Wright Sewall.
Narration. Part of ACM Museum Events, PR, and Ceremonies Recordings. AV002692-1 and AV002692-2: same content. AV002692-1: sound beeps throughout recording. Dated 19731201.
Biographical / Historical:
Frederick Douglass Memorial Home was built between 1855 and 1859 for John Welsh Van Hook, an architect from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Uniontown (also known as Anacostia). In 1877, Frederick Douglass purchased the home and 9 3/4 acres of land, which he named Cedar Hill. Over several years, Douglass purchased additional land and converted the home into a 21 room mansion. In 1900, Douglass' second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass, urged U.S. Congress to charter the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association, which received the property in 1903 upon Helen's death. On September 5, 1962, the Frederick Douglass estate became a part of the National Park Service. Groundbreaking ceremonies for a visitor center were held in September 1980. The visitor center opened to the public in February 1982. Douglass' home and estate became a National Historic Site in 1988 and underwent several restorations between 1922 and 2007.;Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore but fled north in 1838 to settle in Massachussetts. He soon became an abolitionist in the antislavery movement, and by the mid-1840s his commanding eloquence in offering firsthand testimony to the oppressions of slavery had transformed him into one of the movement's most persuasive spokesmen. Douglass' reforming zeal remained strong all his life. After the Civil War put an end to slavery, he continued to be a leading defender of the rights of African Americans during Reconstruction.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV002692-2
General:
Title transcribed from physical asset.
Collection 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 at acmarchives@si.edu.
Through their speeches for Black History Week in 1975, African American students from schools across Washington, D.C. interpret what they think Frederick Douglass said in his speeches. Oratorical contest and award presentation took place at the Ft. Dupont Activity Center in southeast Washington, D.C.
Speeches. Part of ACM Museum Events, PR, and Ceremonies Recordings. AV000796: 19750214. AV000815 and AV003578: undated. AV000836: tape 1, dated 19750214. AV003578: award presentation until 001725 (followed by African Welcoming of Nana Oparebea to the United States).
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV000815
ACMA AV003578
ACMA AV000836
Collection 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 at acmarchives@si.edu.
Student Oratorical Contest on Frederick Douglass and Award Presentation, Record Group AV09-023, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Dramatic performance of The Ballad of the Black Dragon, a play based on the life and work of Frederick Douglass. Includes excerpts of speeches delivered by Douglass. Recording does not contain entire play.
Performance. Poor sound quality. Part of ACM Museum Events, PR, and Ceremonies Recordings. Undated.
Collection 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 at acmarchives@si.edu.
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 13, Folder 9
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Banquet camera photographs
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1940 -- Photographs
Date:
1931 September 16
Scope and Contents:
Scan Number: 618ns0177565pg.tif
Mixed group of men and women, posed in three rows in front of columns of Douglass's house. Ink on negative : "A.I.O. of Moses at Home of Fredrick Douglass, / Sept. 16 '31 / Scurlock / Photo". No manufacturer's mark on film edge.
General:
From original negative Box 5692016M.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Series 8: Business Records, Subseries 8.1: Studio Session Registers are restricted. Digital copies available for research. See repository for details.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
The Anacostia Historical Society records, which date from 1974 to 1992, document the history and activities of the Anacostia Historical Society. The records are comprised of correspondence, financial records, museum catalogs, newsletters, clippings and slides.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the activities of the Anacostia Historical Society between 1974 and 1992. It contains material related to the Society's administration, events, and membership. Included in the collection are administrative and financial records, correspondence, mailing lists, membership records, and printed materials.
Arrangement:
The records are organized into six series. The Administration, Printed Materials, and Special Events series have been further arranged into subseries. The Printed Materials series is arranged chronologically; otherwise the content of each series and subseries is arranged alphabetically. The series are arranged as follows:
Series I: Administration, 1974-1992, contains materials related to the management and organization of the Anacostia Historical Society (AHS). The documents in this series include dues statements, meeting agendas and minutes, and membership lists. The meeting agendas and minutes present a comprehensive view of the scope of the Socety's political and social efforts on ehalf of the Anacostia community.
Series II: Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, 1975-1990, contains information on the Anacostia Neighborbood Museum's administration, events, and exhibits. The materials include administrative papers, event calendars, fliers, and membership documents. There are extensive records on the planning for the Museum's 10th Anniversary celebration and on the Anacostia Story 1608/1930 exhibit, which was developed in collaboration with the Anacostia Historical Society.
Series III: Correspondence, 1975-1985, is comprised of the Society's correspondence with its members, political representatives, and the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum. Also included in this series is correspondence generated by Alice Bell Finlayson in her effort to prevent the demolition of Birney School, where she served as principal for fourteen years.
Series IV: Printed Materials, 1975-1992, contains newspaper clipping, newsletters, and museum materials, which provide information on Anacostia's history and culture The materials include the Anacostia Historical Society's newsletters.
Series V: Slides, 1970-1974, contain color slides. Some of the images are from the San Francisco region and include pictures of the Market Street area of the city.
Series VI: Special Events, 1977-1987, contains materials related to enrchment events sponsored by the Society. Included are curriculum vitae and speeches from the lecture series, and general information on excursions to historical sites.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Anacostia Historical Society ws established in 1974 to serve as "an organization of Anacostia residents and a committee of the Board of the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum...dedicated to the collection, preservation and understanding of its community's rich history and heritage." To this end, the coalition developed programs that provided opportunities for the entire city to learn more about the area. In 1977, this collaboration produced The Anacostia Story: 1608-1930, an exhibit which presented an expansive chronicle of life in the Anacostia area. The same year, with funding from the Smithsonian Institution and a grant from the D.C. Commmunity Humanities Council, the Society established a lecture series that addressed important issues in the community. Speakers included academicians, politicians, activists and community leaders. The Society continued its work through the 1990s; however, its records show a drop in participation and program events in the early 1980s. The latest indication of organizational activity is a meeting attendance sheet dated April 8, 1922, which indicates 6 members attended.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
Copyright restrictions may exist. Please contact the archivist for further information.
