Apr

SI Day at the Anacostia Community Museum

All Smithsonian employees, interns and volunteers are invited to an open house at the Anacostia Community Museum, Thursday, May 5. Participants will receive a docent-led tour of the exhibition, “Word, Shout, Song: Lorenzo Dow Turner Connecting Communities through Language.”

The exhibit documents the historical journey made by people from Africa who brought their language and music to the Americas. Lorenzo Dow Turner was the first African American linguist. He discovered in the 1930s that the Gullah people of Georgia and South Carolina still cultivated the culture and language of their enslaved ancestors, which had long been believed lost. Turner’s research produced a living treasury of previously unknown traditions, songs and folkways, which also uncovered and illuminated connections with West African and Afro-Brazilian communities. Highlights of the exhibit include rare photographs, recordings and artifacts collected by Dr. Turner in Georgia, South Carolina, Brazil, and West Africa.

Visitors will also enjoy a curator’s talk on upcoming exhibitions, learn more about ACM’s Museum Academy Program, and receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum that includes collections area, archives and library.

Lorenzo Dow Turner recording informants in Africa. (Photo courtesy Lorenzo Dow Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives)

A shuttle bus will provide transportation for two tours, departing from the front of the Castle at 1000 Jefferson Drive, SW.

TOUR I

9:00 A.M. Bus departs SI Castle

12:05 P.M. Bus returns to SI Castle

TOUR II

12:15 P.M. Bus departs SI Castle

3:10 P.M. Bus arrives at SI Castle

Because of time limitations, participants are encouraged to eat lunch on their own either before or after their tour. Reservations are required. For reservations call (202) 633-4875 (non-VoIP users) | x34875 (VoIP users) or e-mail ACMRSVP@si.edu.

For more information, contact Jenelle Cooper Tolson, Special Events, ACM, x34864 (VoIP), 202-633-4867 (non-VoIP), jctolson@si.edu.