Anacostia Community Museum | Washington D.C.

The Anacostia Museum, officially named the Anacostia Community Museum, is the Smithsonian Institution’s museum of African American history and culture, primarily devoted to the identification, documentation and preservation of the African American experience in the Upper South (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Washington, D.C.), as well as nationwide. The museum is located in Southeast Washington, DC and offers exhibitions, educational programs, workshops, lectures, film screenings and other special events that interpret black history from the 1800s to the present. The museum recently expanded its mission beyond a solely ethnic focus to include the impact of social and cultural issues on communities from both a contemporary and historical perspective.

Recent featured exhibitions include:

• “The African Presence in Mexico” (November 8, 2009 – July 4, 2010). A look at the history of African contributions to Mexican culture from 1519 to present day. Organized by the National Museum of Mexican Art, this traveling show highlights the history, artistic expressions and practices of Afro-Mexicans.
• “Jubilee: African American Celebrations” (closed Sept 2009 ) examines nearly 50 African-American holidays, traditions and celebrations such as those around Election Day, Emancipation Day, Kwanzaa and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
• “Separate and Unequaled: Black Baseball in the District of Columbia” looks at the phenomenal popularity and community draw of baseball played by African-Americans on segregated fields in Washington, D.C.

Find out more about Maryland’s black heritage sites and attractions in the Maryland African American Heritage Guide.

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Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture
Address: 1901 Fort Place SE, Washington, DC 20020 USA
Phone: (202) 633-4820
Website: anacostia.si.edu/
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