tural docurnencacion and preservation, the museum has en- 

 couraged and facilitated widespread community involvement 

 and interest in project planning and execution. 



Building upon its tradition of direct and sustained commu- 

 nity involvement, the Anacostia Museum is currently engaged 

 in a number of activities. The concept of "learning partner- 

 ships" is at the center of much of the museum's work. The mu- 

 seum strives to involve community residents in all aspects of 

 its activities. 



Black Mosaic: Community. Race and Ethnicity Among Black 

 Immigrants in Washington, D.C., is a research and exhibi- 

 tion project that examines the family and community life 

 of Afro-Latino and Caribbean people. The Museum en- 

 gaged a series of advisory boards who developed many of 

 the themes and concepts in the exhibition. Research for the 

 proiect was jointly conducted by Anacostia Museum re- 

 search staff and a series of community members. These 

 "community scholars" were trained in oral history, video 

 documentation, and collections condition reporting tech- 

 niques. They worked to document their respective com- 

 munities by visiting homes and offices of community 

 organizations to collect artifacts and photographs for 

 display in the exhibition. They were responsible for 

 shaping museum and public knowledge of the impact of 

 immigration and subsequent family and community 

 histories. 



The project resulted in a groundbreaking exhibition and 

 collection initiative documenting diverse community life in 

 Washington, D.C. More than 230 oral interviews, photos from 

 over 40 families, and 5000 slides were collected as the project 

 developed. 



The museum is currently engaged in a number of pro- 

 jects that are outcomes of the Black Mosaic research proj- 

 ect. They include Washington-based documentation 

 projects focused on the history, achievements, and current 

 challenges of the Caribbean communities; the history and 

 impact of Afro-Latino musical genres; the history and role 

 of Latino organizations and individuals in community de- 

 velopment; an examination of the contemporary Ghanaian 

 community in Washington; and the concept of trans- 

 planted community life. 



The Museum's partnership with the Lucy Ellen Moten 

 Elementary School continued with exhibitions on import- 

 ant local collectors and a student curated exhibition of ma- 

 terials belonging to the students and staff at the school. 

 This collaboration between the museum and the school has 

 existed on an informal basis for nearly 20 years. Staff of the 

 school has served on advisory boards and planning commit- 

 tees for the museum. They have conducted workshops and 

 assisted in program development. Students have long par- 

 ticipated in many of the museums' educational programs. 

 The formal relationship began in 1992 with an m-school 

 museum program that combined arts programming and 

 museum education that introduced the students to staff 

 from a variety of Smithsonian museums and offices. This 



project is intended to serve as a model for museum and school 

 col laborationacross the country. 



The Museum's current major research initiative is Speak to 

 My Heart: African American Communities of Faith and Contempo- 

 rary Life. This project will examine the profound changes and 

 new challenges of the last 25 years for African American com- 

 munities and the role of the church in addressing issues such 

 as HIV/AIDS, homelessness, and youth violence. The project 

 will look at "faith in action" to document how communities 

 of faith build and maintain links for the maintenance and fur- 

 ther development of the community. The project will result in 

 an exhibition in 1997. 



The Museum's exhibition presentations for FY 94 included 

 Malcolm X: Man. Ideal and Icon. This traveling exhibition ex- 

 plored artistic interpretation of this 20th Century leader 

 through paintings, drawings, mixed media works, videos, doc- 

 umentary photographs and a variety of popular cultural mate- 

 rials. At the same time the museum's Community Gallery 

 featured a photographic exhibition entitled Takbir, Allah, 

 Akbarl: Photographs of African-American Muslims in Washington. 

 This exhibition was organized in conjunction with the Ameri- 

 can Muslim Center. 



Additional projects in the Community Gallery 

 included: 



In Search of Common Ground, an exhibit which docu- 

 mented the lives of senior citizens in one of Washington's 

 public housing developments. The project followed seven 

 people through defining periods in their lives: migration 

 from a rural to urban environment and their struggle to cre- 

 ate a new life in a new place. The project was a collabora- 

 tion between the Museum, Potomac Gardens Housing and 

 Tenants Association and the DC Communities Humanities 

 Council. 



Still On The Journey: Photographs and Memorabilia from the 

 First Twenty Years of Sweet Honey In The Rock documented the 

 work of this Washington based a cappella group led by Dr. 

 Bernice Johnson Reagon. Their work ranges from the very per- 

 sonal to the political. 



Expressions. DC show cased the talents of adolescents resid- 

 ing at Oak Hill, Cedar Knolls, Receiving Home for Children 

 and the Spruce Cottage Youth Detention Center. 



The Museum sponsored a number of projects and activities 

 that were supportive of community interest and concern. 

 They included an art project centered around World AIDS 

 Day, an Arts Resource Fair as well as an environmental studies 

 program centered around the Museum's George Washington 

 Carver Nature Trail and a symposium on Environmental 

 Justice. 



The Museum's rich and significant programmatic accom- 

 plishments included two maior festivals on the grounds of the 

 Museum attended by over 4,000 people. Over 95 educational 

 programs featuring demonstrations, films, lectures, work- 

 shops for children and adult audiences, and 546 tours for 

 schools and group tours provided a diverse population with a 

 new museum experience. 



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