Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! I can be reached at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com.
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The Grand Opening is Here!
Well, it is finally here folks, the grand opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture! Tomorrow is the grand opening and it promises to be a grand event! I was excited to see some of the images shared last week by those who had the special passes to the receptions and open house events. But tomorrow–it is official and the new museum will be open! I am quite excited about this event as well, and hope that we will be able to see that we now have a home, a place where our history on a grand scale is celebrated! Within the next several days I plan to be there, and will be uploading images from the Museum.
There are two exhibits that I am anxious to see. One is a Civil War exhibit reflecting images of soldiers from the 25th US Colored Infantry.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Gift of Aneita Gates, on behalf of her son Kameron Gates and all the descendants of Capt. William A. Pritckett
This exhibit reflects a photo album made by one of the commanding officers of several men that served under him. The officer was William Prickett, and in 2014, Military Images Magazine featured an article that reflected the images of these men. The album has been in the same family since the Civil War and it was donated to the Smithsonian, and is now on display.
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Image Courtesy of Tammy Geyer Posey, Drumright Historical Society
The second exhibit that I wish to see is that of a series of textbooks from Oklahoma. I own three of the four books, by Emma Akin of Drumright Oklahoma, and published in 1938. The entire set of four and a new book telling the story of the books is also on display. The books were brought to my attention in the early 1990s and I now own three of the them. This is possibly the only textbook devoted to African American children, and used officially by a school system, segregated though it was. The set is amazing, because the illustrations consist of actual photos of the children of Drumright Oklahoma from the 1930s. I wrote an article about the books
In future months, I hope to see the genealogy center opened and operating. I am most interested in visiting that center and possibly in the future volunteering to assist visitors seeking information on their family history.
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Last night’s episode of Bernice Bennett’s show featured Leonard Smith who has amazing experience as a videographer, interviewer and researcher. Well last night listeners had a chance to hear a great conversation about telling your story differently. Mr. Smith spoke about making a 5-7 minute documentary about the family. If you have photos, documents, oral history interviews of elders—you have the basics to make a documentary. The conversation between the two was an engaging one, and I must say that I was inspired after listening to two as they spoke.
The second half of the interview consisted of a review of a documentary that was made about a well loved teacher, Yvonne Busch, of New Orleans. He spoke about her legacy, but also spoke about the process. As I said the interview was very dynamic and inspiring. The show airs every Thursday at 9pm on Blog Talk Radio.
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Looking ahead, don’t forget that the Annual AAHGS conference will be next month in Atlanta October 13-16th. I look forward to that event and hope that I will see some of you there.
Roots Tech is not too far away, and plans are being made right now to join everyone there. So there is a lot of planning underway for the present as well as the future! Looking eagerly towards 2017!
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I plan to have one or two Smithsonian special broadcasts while in Washington over the next few days, so stand by as I give you my impressions of the amazing things that will unfold over the next several days! What an honor and a joy to stand in a place that will be reflect so much of our history, on the national level!
This is a shorter podcast this week, so I am winding things down for the week! I will be blogging and uploading images and sounds from the Washington Mall over the next several days, and share with you my impressions of the many things to see and discover.
In the meantime, have a great week, and remember to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find.
