This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
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.
Collection Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
The collection documents George Eaton Simpson's fieldwork in Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Nigeria from 1936-1964. There are 704 images in several formats including negatives, prints, and slides. The photographs were primarily made by Simpson, but a few were made by Frederic Ramsey, Jr. Ramsey's prints are stamped on verso with his name. Many prints and slides are annotated by Simpson.
The collection also includes a few reprints of articles based on Simpson's field work and words and musical transcription from Savalou Ricourt, a musician of Port au Prince in 1937.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series:
1. Haiti, 1936-1937
2. Jamaica, 1953, 1957
3. Trinidad, 1960
4. Nigeria, 1964
5. Lantern slides, undated
6. Publications, 1940-1987
Biographical/Historical note:
George Eaton Simpson (1904-1998) was an anthropologist whose focus was the various social aspects of Caribbean religions. He wrote over 60 articles and books, and taught sociology and anthropology at Oberlin College from 1947-1971.
Born in Knoxville, Iowa, Simpson received his B.S. from Coe College in 1926, his M.A. from the University of Missouri in 1927, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1934. In 1947 he began teaching at Oberlin College in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. In addition to teaching classes, Simpson served on numerous committees and as department chair.
Simpson conducted fieldwork in the Caribbean, specifically Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad, and Nigeria. He focused primarily on Caribbean religions such as Vodun in Haiti, Rastafarianism in Jamaica, and the Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad. His fieldwork has been documented in numerous articles and books, including "The Vodun Service in Northern Haiti", "The Shango Cult in Nigeria and Trinidad", and Black Religions in the New World. He occasionally collaborated on articles with fellow anthropologists Joseph G. Moore and J. Milton Yinger. He also served as a visiting professor at several leading universities.
He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Wellcome Medal for Anthropological Research, the Anisfield-Wolf Award in Race Relations (with J. Milton Yinger), Doctor of Humane Letters – Oberlin College, and Doctor of Humane Letters – Coe College.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 93-14
Related Materials:
Additional photographs from Simpson are held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 2001-24.
The George Eaton Simpson Film Study of Plaisance, Haiti, 1937, accession No. 92.12.1 in the Smithsonian Institution Human Film Studies Archives contains silent black and white film footage of Plaisance, Haiti shot by Simpson and his colleagues. The footage contains events also depicted in the photograph collection including work coumbites, marketplace scenes, a wedding ceremony, a funeral, drumming and dancing at a social gathering, and a dancing demonstration. Included in this accession are 21 audiotapes recorded by Simpson and Joseph G. Moore during their fieldwork in Jamaica and Trinidad.
The Joseph G. Moore Collection: Jamaican Revival and Kumina, 1957-1958, accession No. 92.1.1 in the Smithsonian Institution Human Film Studies Archives contains related material to Simpson's study of Jamaican Revival Zion and Kumina. The collection contains film footage of Morant Bay and West Kingston, Jamaica shot in 1957. The footage was originally intended for the "Odyssey" program or possibly a short feature. Some of the it ended up being featured on the CBS program "Lamp Unto My Feet" which also includes interviews with Joseph G. Moore and George Eaton Simpson. There is over 10 hours of footage, and in 1992 Simpson, Smithsonian Institution Human Film Studies Archives Director John Homiak, and research associate Ken Bilby recorded approximately 10 hours of commentary about the footage. This collection also contains audio recordings made in 1993 of a discussion between Simpson, Homiak, and Bilby concerning the relation of Jamaican Revival with Rastafari.
Sound recordings by Simpson held in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections in the Folkways Records Collection and the Moses and Frances Asch Collection.
Oberlin College has a manuscript collection of George Eaton Simpson's papers (RG 30/64) that document Simpson's research and academic work.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Anthropoligical Archives by George E. Simpson in 1992.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
The negatives are in cold storage and require advanced notice to access.
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 1980 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 7 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: American Talkers
Series 3: Caribbean Americans
Series 4: Community Activities and Food Preservation
Series 5: Finnish Americans
Series 6: Folk Housing and Energy Efficiency
Series 7: Southeast Asian Americans
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 1980 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Office of Folklife Programs and cosponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Introduction:
The 1980 Festival was the third to use "community" as its over-arching theme, and the last to be held in October. As with recent Festivals, it 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). It was also the first to be organized by the newly-established Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1992), successor to the former Folklife Program of the Office of American and Folklife Studies (1977-1980). The indoor programming in several museums that had characterized the 1977-1979 Festivals was discontinued and all activities were held outdoors.
When families and community groups gather to celebrate or to mourn, Festival Director Ralph Rinzler observed in the program book, they depend on traditional flavors, sounds, dances, and prayers to reinforce their sense of belonging, their group strength and cultural identity. At the annual Folklife Festival, the Smithsonian acknowledged the power of these traditions, which recall the value that Americans continue to place on being members of groups - familial, occupational, ethnic, regional, and religious. Festival organizers considered this recognition a step in the process of cultural conservation, in the belief that cultural variety, on a national and on a global scale, makes life itself more rewarding. Community and identity thus served as the twin poles around which Festival programs were organized.
The 1980 Festival (October 8-13) included a Caribbean Carnival with steel band and calypso competitions; Finnish Americans from northern Minnesota demonstrating a traditional "whip-sled" for children and such crafts as making Christmas tree ornaments from wood shavings; Southern carpenters building a traditional "dog trot" house; Southeast Asians demonstrating weaving, embroidery, stone carving, calligraphy; among others. The Festival asserted that rootedness is a tangible part of the fascination with history, our own or our country's or that of some distant place. This was seen as a part of life that everyone should value, and so the Festival not only celebrated customs and ways of doing things, but evoked the pride of being someone from somewhere. The 1980 Program Book provided information on each of the programs.
The 1980 Festival was again co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Music Performance Trust Funds. It was organized by the Office of Folklife Programs.
Folklife Advisory Council
Wilcomb E. Washburn, Chairman, Roger Abrahams, Richard Ahlborn, Richard Dorson, William Fitzhugh, Lloyd Herman, Robert Laughlin, Scott Odell, Ralph Rinzler, Peter Seitel, Richard Sorenson, Thomas Vennum
Office of Folklife Programs
Ralph Rinzler, Director; Richard Derbyshire, Archivist; Susan Kalcik, Folklorist; Jeffrey LaRiche, Program Coordinator; Jack Santino, Folklorist; Peter Seitel, Senior Folklorist; Thomas Vennum, Ethnomusicologist; Steve Zeitlin, Folklorist
National Park Service
Russell E. Dickenson, Director; Manus J. Fish, Jr., Regional Director, National Capital Region
Fieldworkers and presenters:
Steve Addiss, John W. Berquist, Charley Camp, Amy Catlin, Dennis Coelho, Héctor Corporán, Amanda Dargan, Richard Flint, Marjorie Hunt, Geraldine Johnson, Fred Lieberman, Howard Marshall, Von Martin, Maxine Miska, Bill Moore, Elliott Parris, Leslie Prosterman, Arthur Rosenbaum, Jack Santino, Marta Schley, Katherine Williams, Margaret Yocom, Steven Zeitlin
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: 1980 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.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
Three programs at the 1980 Festival focused attention on immigrant communities, two of which involved what was called the "New Immigration", subsequent to passage of the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act. The 1965 Act represented an effort to equalize opportunity for immigrants to the United States without favoring the traditional Western-Northern European or Western Hemispheric source countries. The new immigrants tended to be largely urban located and oriented. Because of their visibility and the discrimination against visible minorities, they often suffered multiple levels of disregard by the larger population. The life styles, cultures, and languages of the new immigrants were perceived to be little known, appreciated, or regarded by the general American public as the decade began.
American cities were seen as the frontiers of the new immigrants; the arenas where the wills, interests, and cultures of each group came into contest with those of other ethnic groups; and the settings where competition or coalescence took place among them. It was cities that saw scenes of confrontation between traditions and of adjustments from both sides - natives and immigrants. The cities were also the sites of the celebrations and the contributions of most new immigrants. This was true both for the Southeast Asian Americans program and for the Caribbean Americans program.
Many factors, including the growing acceptance of "cultural pluralism" rather than "Anglo-conformity" as a model for the United States, imbued the contemporary Caribbean immigrant community with the confidence to proclaim and practice openly their Caribbean heritage. An obvious example was the proliferation in many North American cities of the Caribbean festival of Carnival that had been featured in the 1979 Festival. In Boston, Hartford, New York, Montreal, Toronto, and Los Angeles, this festival has emerged as a full-scale annual community celebration, while in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Miami, and other cities, some aspects of Carnival can be seen on a smaller scale. One function of these carnivals was the impetus they give to the internal unification of the Caribbean communities themselves. Considerations of class and island origin have tended to divide members of the American Caribbean community from each other, but the carnivals have emerged as Caribbean, and their acceptance by the community as such held the potential for even greater unification in the future.
In addition to Carnival, the Caribbean immigrant community contributed to the American scene in sports, religion, music, dance, literature, and the arts. Cricket, once considered an elite British game, is the sport that every child is introduced to in the Caribbean. West Indians have been credited with bringing to a game that was once considered stylish but stuffy a spirit of fun and fete that can now be enjoyed any Saturday or Sunday afternoon in West Indian communities in such cities as Hartford, Boston, and New York.
In Miami, New York, and Washington, the distindly Caribbean religions of Santeria, the worship of Vodun (Voodoo), and Rastafarianism can be found. Santeria, practiced by many Cubans, is a synthesis of Catholicism with the Yoruba religion of West Africa. Vodun, a Haitian religion, is a similar blend of Christianity and the religious worship of ancient Dahomey. Rastafarianism, however, is a modern religion that originated in Jamaica in the 1930s based on belief in the divinity of the former Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, and the perception of Ethiopia as the original homeland to which Black people in the Western Hemisphere should repatriate. Caribbean music was part of the sound of many an American city - whether the Yoruba drumming of Santeria, the reggae rhythms that originated with the Rastafarians, or the rumba, the samba, and the calypso - and likewise part of the 1980 Festival. Syncretism between these Caribbean rhythms and the rhythm-and-blues beat of the United States was demonstrated in such new dance beats as the "salsa" and "soca" (soul-calypso).
Caribbean contributions to American community life featured at the 1980 Festival thus included an impressive record of achievement and an infusion of cultural forms adding to the vitality and diversity of American life through the contributions of immigrant communities.
Katherine Williams was Caribbean Americans Program Coordinator, and Roy Bryce-LaPorte was Special Consultant
Participants:
Miguel Alpizar, Santero, Silver Spring, Maryland
George Andre, 1946-, Brazilian music discussant, Washington, D.C.
Ruthven John Blake, 1947-, publicist & M.C., Silver Hill, Maryland
Elliott P. Boisdore, Mardi Gras discussant, New Orleans, Louisiana
Brightwood Elementary School, Hispanic American games, Washington, D.C.
Marie Brooks & Claude Brooks, dancer and drummer, New York, New York
William Brown, Umbanda discussant leader, Brazilian costumed band, Washington, D.C.
Selwyn Callendar, stick fighter, Washington, D.C.
Isolina Campbell, Botanica, Washington, D.C.
Caribbean American Carnival Day Association (Edward Harry, leader), costume band, Boston, Massachusetts
Sons of His Majesty (Satta Blue, 1954-, leader), Nyabingi drummers, Rastafari discussants, Washington, D.C.
Triangle Systems (Linda Phifer, leader), kiddies and costume band, Washington, D.C.
The Trinidad and Tobago Baltimore Steel Orchestra (Paul Gervais, 1941-, leader), steelband, Baltimore, Maryland
The Trinidad and Tobago Steelband of Washington, D.C. (Franklin Harding, 1941-, leader), steelband, Washington, D.C.
Brian Walker, 1957-, dancer, costume band, Washington, D.C.
Levi Warren, Cornelia Cotillion Square Dance Club, New York, New York
Reginald Warren, Cornelia Cotillion Square Dance Club, New York, New York
The West Indian American Labor Day Association (Carlos Lezama, 1923-, leader), carnival organizer, New York, New York
Peter Whiteman, 1944-, costume designer, costume band leader, Washington, D.C.
The Wild Tchoupitoulas (Jason Berry, agent), Mardi Gras krewe, New Orleans, Louisiana
Connie Williams, cook, Brooklyn, New York
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Documentary challenging stereotypes about the Rastafarian movement.
Object Number:
2012.79.1.26.1a
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The NMAAHC Media Preservation team can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes.
Collection Citation:
Pearl Bowser Collection, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
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.
Collection Citation:
Jeff Donaldson papers, 1918-2005, bulk 1960s-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of the Jeff Donaldson papers was provided by the Walton Family Foundation.
Series 2 consists of images from Jamaica in 1953 and 1957. The images are primarily located in Kingston, Spanish Town, and Morant Bay. Subjects include people, buildings, houses, outdoor scenes, Revival Zion leaders and ceremonies, Jonkonnu (spelled John Canoe in Simpson's annotations) dancers, Rastafarian activists and leaders, and instruments described as Kumina-related (spelled Cumina in Simpson's annotations).
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
The negatives are in cold storage and require advanced notice to access.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Photo Lot 93-14, George Eaton Simpson photographs, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection 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.
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection 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.
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1989 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
102 Lewin interview on Maroon and Kumina culture / Olive Lewin.
Local Numbers:
FP-1989-CT-0345-5
General:
Interview with Simeon, A Rastafarian from D.C.By Natalie Weathers. Includes Thoughts on the Meaning of the Rastafarian Religion in His Life; Interview with Olive Lewin (1927-2013), Background on Kumina and Maroon Culture, Personal History, Festival Observations
Audio in DAMS system
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, June 25, 1989.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection 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.
