Crystal Overby knew that her son wanted to obtain a Boys Scouts merit badge in art, and he needed to go to a museum to fulfill one of the requirements for the achievement.
So, on July 5, Overby and her 13-year-old son Topey left Waldorf, Maryland, to go to the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum in Southeast D.C. She took her son to the Ward 8 museum because of her connection to the site.
“I grew up in Southeast,” Overby, 54, said. “To meet the requirements of the art merit badge, he must visit an art museum and write about what that experience is like. I immediately thought of the Anacostia Museum because I have been here several times over the years, and it has a strong cultural and artistic component.”
When Overby learned the latest federal budget supported by the Trump administration has functionally defunded the museum, she shook her head in disbelief.
“We as Black people don’t have a lot of places where we can explore our culture,” she said. “Our kids need those places. Kids love culture and they should have places to go to learn more about their history.”
Topey, a rising eighth grader in middle school in Charles County, Maryland, agreed with his mother.
“I like this museum,” he told The Informer, “because it shows Black people’s contribution to art and history.”
Overby and Topey are a part of a growing number of people who have expressed concerns about the Anacostia Community Museum since it was announced that it was zeroed out of federal funding because of the reduction in the budget of Smithsonian museums.
Philip Pannell, executive director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council (ACC), shares the sentiments of the museum’s supporters and worries of what can happen next.
“The museum’s budget has been cut at $3 million and unless that changes, there is a proposal that the museum will be blended into the National Museum of African American History and Culture,” said Pannell, 74. “That would not be a good thing.”
A Short History of the Anacostia Community Museum
The Anacostia Community Museum was founded in 1967 under the aegis of the Smithsonian Institution at the former Carver Theater in the Anacostia neighborhood.
The museum was designed to bring aspects of the Smithsonian east of the Anacostia River, which was (and remains) predominantly Black. The idea was that the museum would serve as a catalyst for African Americans to visit the other Smithsonian museums on the National Mall.
The Rev. John Kinard was appointed director of the museum in June 1967. In 1970, the museum became the first Smithsonian-run community entity to receive federal funding.
In 1974, the museum tapped Louise Daniel Hutchinson as its first historian. The next year, the museum had 10 full-time, permanent staff members with divisions such as the director’s office, education and research and exhibitions.
The museum opened its Fort Stanton location on May 17, 1987, where it presently sits. Also, during this time, the museum adopted a focus on the history and struggle of Black people worldwide.
However, in 2006, the museum changed to its present name and Camille Akeju became its director. Community members continued to play a large role in the content offered to the public under the Akeju administration, including Ward 8 community activist Stuart Anderson.
“The museum allowed me to show an exhibit on the food inequities that exist east of the Anacostia River,” Anderson, 65, told The Informer.
Support for Museum’s Survival
There have been two public meetings that addressed the issue of the Anacostia Community Museum’s funding.
On June 30, the ACC convened a meeting of interested residents discussing the plight of the museum at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ward 8.
Pearl Eni, who directed the museum’s Anacostia Park Oral History Project, attended the meeting and participated in the community conversation. She was subsequently asked to become part of the Save Our Museum committee.
“The Anacostia Community Museum (ACM) is a special place and working there was a life-changing experience for me,” Eni told The Informer. “I joined the committee to spread love and awareness about this local gem. We want everyone in D.C. and beyond to know about the ACM. It is a museum of many firsts and its impact is incalculable.”
The museum was also a topic of discussion at the Ward 8 Clergy and Faith Leaders meeting that took place on July 12 at the Young’s Memorial Church of Christ Holiness in Ward 8. Melanie Adams, the director of the museum, spoke on the latest developments.
“I have been the director of the museum since 2019,” Adams told the gathering of 30 people. “We tell stories of the people of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The stories we are telling are hyperlocal.”
She emphasized the 12% cut that the Smithsonian system took in the latest budget proposal, saying “the reduction zeroed out the Anacostia Community Museum…and we lost $3 million.”
Adams said she and her employees cannot lobby Capitol Hill to get the funding restored due to their status as federal workers. Nevertheless, she said there is “an effort to educate people on the Hill of the importance of the museum.”
The museum’s current director agrees with Pannell in that merging the Anacostia site with the National Museum for African American History and Culture is not an innovative idea.
“The stories from the Anacostia Community Museum are different from those at the National Museum,” she said. “We want to make sure that we are serving the community.”
As part of his community advocacy, Anderson is supporting efforts to preserve the museum.
“I believe it is paramount to push back and stop the effort to shut down the museum that is a positive space for African Americans,” he said. “The museum is a beacon that houses the history of African Americans and the history of the city. The museum has had exhibits that showcase housing, culture, artistic displays, and the African American experience in D.C. Saving this museum is larger than the Ward 8 community, no other museum in the city speaks to the African American experience in the city.”
Pannell said the ACC will formally announce the convening of the Save Our Museum committee at its July 29 meeting.
The Rev. Wanda Thompson, who serves as the chair of the Ward 8 Clergy and Faith Leaders organization, highlighted the museum’s importance to Anacostia’s residents and legacy.
“The Anacostia Community Museum is a jewel in our community,” Thompson said. “We don’t want to see it gone.”
Save the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum!