Anacostia Community Museum Commemorates Black History Month

Melanie Adams, Roger Ferguson and Annette Nazareth Director

5 The National Building Museum will host the fifth annual Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF) Jan. 26-Jan. 29, featuring “Barry Farm: Community, Land and Justice in Washington DC.” (Courtesy Photo) on Friday and Saturday evening, with vendors from Little Minor Taco, Don Ciccio & Figli, Other Half Brewing and Silver Branch Brewing.

In addition to multiple films investigating international design, redlining and modern-day effects caused by discriminatory urban design, Friday evening includes a photography showcase featuring local artists James Singewald and Steven Cummings.

Saturday, sustainable fashion is the theme, with films, panels and a pop-up in the Great Hall with unique local vendors including Tribute Collective, Bitter Grace and Illicit Rag Vintage.

On Sunday funday, the National Building Museum will wrap ADFF programming with a Go-Go brunch that will feature tunes provided by celebrated band TOB and a pop-up exhibition with the work of photographer Dee Dwyer.

Dwyer said she jumped at the opportunity to showcase her work as part of the fifth annual ADFF.

“I was all game for it, especially when it comes to TOB being in the building. I’m a GoGo girl, I love it,” said Dwyer.

The native Washingtonian photographer, who has also been called the “visual voice of the people,” will be offering a glimpse into the District’s vibrant, Black culture and communities.

“I’ll be showing some images from my Chocolate City documentation,” she said. “D.C. was coined that because of the high population of Black people, so I’ll be showcasing some of my images from my collection about Chocolate City.”

As we enter February, many people will look for ways to commemorate Black History Month. Started back in the early 1920’s, Black History Month was created by Carter G. Woodson to bring to light the many contributions of African Americans to this country. While it was originally called, Negro History Week, Woodson did not design the program to be limited to that seven-day time period. Students spent all year learning about African American history and then spent that one week in February sharing what they learned in programs held throughout the community. Much like Carter G. Woodson, the Anacostia Community Museum also believes that African American History is something that should take place throughout the year, though we do participate in Black History month by providing opportunities for the community to celebrate, commemorate, and plan for a better future.

The museum is proud to welcome visitors to The Utopia Project: Inspiration for Creative Activism. This gallery experience asks visitors to imagine the world they want to live in and then provides them with the tools to make it a reality. Using the stories of historic African American changemakers such as Walter Pierce and Roach Brown and new changemakers such as artists Yetunda Sapp and Maps Glover, this experience encourages creativity to serve as the catalyst for actions that lead to positive change. As our Associate Director of Education says, Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't say “I have a five-point plan,” he said, “I have a dream.” Dreams are powerful and allow us to imagine a world where we live up to the words in our founding documents of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In addition to The Utopia Project, the museum will have programs throughout the month encouraging visitors to learn more about African American history in the DC region. The museum believes it is important for everyone to feel welcome and have access to our programs so we planned programs that should appeal to a variety of audiences including families, artists and activists, and community historians. We work with community organizations and individuals to share their stories and highlight the good things happening East of the River. All of our programs are free and can be found on our website at anacostia.si.edu/events.

The DC Region is rich with opportunities for Black History Month programs. Even if you don’t attend a program at the Anacostia Community Museum (or one of our other Smithsonian museums), I hope you will take the time to commemorate and celebrate the contributions of African Americans. If not in February, then at some other point in year because African American history and culture should not be confined to 28 days a year.

In addition to crunching from the brunching and cranking from the jamming, viewers will get a chance to view the critically acclaimed documentary “Barry Farm: Communi- ty, Land and Justice in Washington DC.”

Following the screening will be a Q&A with filmmakers Samuel George and Sabiyha Prince.

Tickets for one day or the entire festival can be purchased at nbm. org.

As VP of education and engage- ment, Sawyer said that the four-day festival is a “choose your own adventure,” event.

“We hope you join us for all four days, because all four days are different, all four days are going to bring their own vibe, and we want to share that with everyone.”

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