ARCHIVES PRIDE: LGBT-Related Collections at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

President Obama has proclaimed June 2014 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, and many cities and towns throughout the United States will celebrate LGBT Pride.  An outgrowth of the gay rights movement, the creation of Pride was sparked by the Stonewall riots in June 1969.  The first Pride parade was held in New York City in June 1970.

Promotional advertisement for DC Cowboys with photographs by Julian Vankim, 1994-2012: front and verso shown.
From the DC Cowboys Dance Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Smithsonian secretary Wayne Clough, in his recent Message from the Secretary, stated in part, “We continue to strengthen our collections so that we may more fully present LBGT contributions to American history, art, science, and culture, and be a welcoming resource to scholars studying LGBT contributions to American society.”  The secretary ended his message affirming, “The LGBT story is an important part of the American experience, and the Smithsonian is committed to making sure that story is told.”

The Archives Center at the National Museum of American History is actively collecting records that tell those stories.  Recently the Archives Center received a donation of the DC Cowboys Dance Company Records, an all-male, gay, non-profit dance company based in Washington, D.C. that was active from 1994-2012. They performed nationally and internationally, "celebrating diversity through dance." Typical performance venues included: Pride Festivals, the Gay Rodeo circuit, and charity events for numerous local and national charities.  The Cowboys also performed on: NBC’s America's Got Talent (2008); Closing Ceremonies of the Gay Games VII at Wrigley Field in Chicago (2006); The Sziget Festival, Budapest, Hungary (2009–2012); ITV’s Dales’ Great Getaway, London, England (2012), and RTE’s The Podge and Rodge show, Dublin, Ireland (2010).  The collection includes correspondence, advertisement, financial records, photographs, and ephemera.

The DC Cowboys Dance Records join over 68 cubic feet of LGBT-related collections currently held by the Archives Center.  The Archives Center’s growing LGBT collections include: The Shamrock Bar: Photographs and Interviews by Carol Burch-Brown; John-Manuel Andriote VICTORY DEFFERRED Collection; Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection; the Joan E. Biren Queer Film Museum Collection; and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Records.  For more information visit the Archives Center website. 

Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Archives Specialist 
Archives Center, National Museum of American History

In the Good Old Watermelon Time

Pollock family eating watermelon in Arizona, ca. 1914 / unidentified photographer. Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Now that summer is fully upon us, it seemed a good time to share this photograph which has long been a staff favorite here at the Archives of American Art. Not only is it seasonally appropriate (I could go for a 2-foot long slice of watermelon right about now) and a charming family portrait, but it shows the softer side of one of America's most influential artists, Jackson Pollock. Perhaps you didn't recognize him right away since he was only a toddler when this photo was taken, but he is the smallest of the tow-headed youngsters in this picture, standing in the center and struggling to hold up that watermelon that is almost as big as he is. Who knows, perhaps the patterns created by the dribbling of watermelon juice in the dirt sowed some inspiration in him that would later influence his Abstract Expressionist style...

Bettina Smith, Digital Projects Librarian
Archives of American Art

Under the Privilege of the Fifth Amendment

“I don’t think I have ever felt so damned alone as on that day” 

 Lee Hays on his experience testifying before the House of Un-American Activities Committee

Subpoena received by Hays, 1955. Lee Hays Papers.
Hays_02_02_055_001. Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

In 1955, two members of The Weavers, (a folk group comprised of Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert) were called to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). HUAC was formed in 1938 in order to discover Nazis within the states, however, it became infamous during the Cold War for interrogating private citizens suspected of having Communist ties.

Lee Hays and Pete Seeger had been identified as Communists by an FBI informant.  During this time, being identified as a Communist could be detrimental to one's livelihood. In the case of Lee Hays it led to a commercial blacklisting that would cast a shadow over the next several decades of his career.  The Weavers and Lee Hays were responsible for penning hits in support of the working class such as "Roll the Union On" and "If I Had a Hammer".  

Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. Photograph by Joe Thompson. Lee Hays Papers,
Hays_02_073_j016. Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.

Hays, along with Seeger, founded People’s Songs which was "organized to create, promote and distribute songs of labor and the American people."  Unfortunately, these politically charged songs came to be at the height of McCarthyism.  That is, when Senator Joseph McCarthy encouraged Americans to turn in their neighbors, friends, and family on suspicions of being a Communist.  In retrospect, McCarthyism has been seen as invasive, a witch-hunt, and in a twist of irony, distinctly un-American.

On August 16, 1955 best-selling folksinger Lee Hays appeared before HUAC to defend his political beliefs. 

What follows is a short selection from his trial transcript:

Mr. Tavenner: What I am trying to get at, Mr. Hays, is to learn to what extent the Communist Party has used you in its program to advance the cause of the Communist Party in this country.

Mr. Hays: I don’t know what you mean, sir, by the use of the word ‘used’.

Mr. Tavenner: I mean used in the sense that you contributed your talent and your services, and your time, and your effort knowingly to assist the Communist Party in the field of your talent.

Mr. Hays: You are asking questions which to me are highly argumentative and debatable, and I don’t propose to get into that debate and argument because it is an area that deals with associations and beliefs and so I do decline to answer that under the reasons stated.

Chairman Walter: You decline to answer because of the fifth amendment, is that right?

Mr. Hays: Under the privilege of the fifth amendment.

Lee Hays, throughout his trial, declined to answer any questions that would identify anyone as being a communist. In personal correspondence, Hays has described the experience as being harrowing.  He found it immoral and un-American to provide information on others' personal and political beliefs; even if they were not Communists or sympathizers.

Letter of condemnation, 1955. Lee Hays Papers,
Hays_02_02_054_006.
 Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.

Letter of Support, 1955. Lee Hays Papers, Hays_02_02_054_015.
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.

Hays was a popular enough figure in 1955 that the public had many opinions regarding his trial.  Contained in the Lee Hays Papers are letters of support and condemnation that Hays received immediately following his appearance before HUAC.  Following the trial, Hays and Seeger were placed on a commercial blacklist which only allowed them to find work in underground circles. The blacklisting lasted into the late 60's and once it was lifted, Hays went on to enjoy several reunions with The Weavers.

Nichole Procopenko

Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

On Becoming a National Museum – 50th Anniversary of the National Museum of African Art

NMAfA Pavilion , 1987, by Jeff Tinsley, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 87-7812-36.

The National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Although it did not join the Smithsonian until 1979 and move to its present home in 1987, it was established in 1964 as a private museum at the initiative of Warren Robbins.  These images look back at the museum in the years since it joined the Smithsonian Institution.

Six children, visiting the National Museum of African Art, listen to Amina Dickerson, program director, at the museum in 1978, photographer unknown, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 96-1008.
 

 At the National Museum of African Art, Legani Kaunda, an artist-in-residence, is at work sculpting from wood a long pipe with a hinged bottom for the tobacco, 1980, by Jeffrey Ploskonka, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 80-16887-37.

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Vice President George Bush, and Secretary S. Dillon Ripley at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Quadrangle Complex, June 21, 1983. The complex includes the National Museum of African Art, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and the S. Dillon Ripley Center, photographer unknown, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 83-6885.12.  

The National Museum of African Art under construction. The photograph shows workers adding copper covering on the domes and the pink granite on the sides of the building. The hexagonal patio in the foreground, still under construction, will be the centerpiece of an Islamic garden with a waterfall, central water jet and seating walls shaded by eight hawthorn trees, 1986, by Jeff Tinsley, Smithsonian Institution Archives, sia85-5103-16.

Beatrice Birra dressed in traditional African clothing tells stories to an audience of children at the National Museum of African Art, July 15, 2005, by Anthony Cross, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 2005-22813.

Pamela Henson, Smithsonian Institution Archives

Happy Birthday to the Smithsonian’s Transcription Center!

As the nation’s premier museum system, the Smithsonian has an enormous collection of historical documents, many of which remain largely unstudied. To allow the public to aid us in the analysis and transcription of these documents, the Smithsonian launched the Transcription Center on June 15, 2013.  As we celebrate our one year anniversary, we are amazed by how much the public has contributed in helping this Smithsonian project.  Let’s do a quick review.

This is a new online system for the public to help us transcribe and review these historical documents held at the Smithsonian.  If you have not seen the Transcription Center before, we invite you to take a quick look at it at http://transcription.si.edu.

The Transcription Center home page

The Transcription Center contains many different types of documents for our volunteers to choose from.  For example, Field Notebooks were frequently used by Smithsonian scientists as they went on scientific expeditions in the US and around the world.  The field notes documented their journeys and observations of animals, plants and people along the way.  Take a look at an example notebook from 1963 on the observation of Cyanerpes (honeycreepers) birds.  When I look at these notes, I am amazed by the painstaking details and the author’s systematic approach in his work, not to mention the valuable data he collected.

Transcribing a page from a 1963 notebook on the observation of Cyanerpes (honeycreepers) birds by Martin Moynihan

The Transcription Center also includes many diaries from artists and scientists which shed light on the events of the past. Take a peek at Leo Baekeland's diary, started in 1907. Leo Baekeland created Bakelite,  an early plastic; his inspiration, frustrations and motivation are well documented throughout his diary.  

There are also many manuscripts, personal letters, and business documents available to be transcribed. Another example project in the Transcription Center is the Charles Henry Hart Autograph collection, 1731-1912.  This is a collection of 167 letters sent between artists to trace the history of art.

A page from the Charles Henry Hart Autograph collection, 1731-1912.

Since the materials are available online, anyone can access these documents from their homes, schools, or offices.  Since launching the Transcription Center, we have already received an overwhelming number of digital volunteers helping us to transcribe and review the documents.  In the first 12 months since we launched the application, we have had more than 900 active volunteers contribute to our crowdsourcing effort.  Together, our volunteers have completed 96 projects which included over 12,980 pages of documents.  A list of the completed projects can be found here; you can read these documents online or download them as PDF files.  They can be used as research references, support documents for homework, or simply reading materials to help you learn more about history.  

One more exciting outcome from the completed transcription: you can search the transcribed text of the object in the Smithsonian’s Collection Search Center.  For example:  In Leo Baekeland’s diary, he talked about “shellac” three time in his diary.  You can now search on “Shellac” online, and get the relevant pages.

A search result page from the Smithsonian Collections Search Center.

Our volunteers come from 124 countries, but most of them are from the United States.  People from all 50 states have joined us in actively transcribing and reviewing our documents.  Outside of the US, the top ten countries from which  our volunteers hail include New Zealand, United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, Canada, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, India, Venezuela and Brazil.

I am humbled by the incredible participation of our volunteers who have given us their time and dedication to help the Smithsonian in the Transcription Center.  We know how much time it must have taken to transcribe the over 12,980 pages of documents already completed – documents which frequently have illegible handwriting and difficult page layouts.  Yet the quality of the finished transcription is outstanding!  In our communications with our volunteers, we can tell that everyone is dedicated to producing quality work.  Our volunteers take full advantage of the “Review” function in the Transcription Center; they reviewed and corrected any inaccurate content and their efforts have resulted in accurate transcriptions for everyone to use.  

Our next blog post will discuss our efforts to make the use of the transcriptions which our volunteers have provided. Stay tuned for more!

Ching-Hsien Wang, Project Manager for the Transcription Center
Library and Archives System Support Branch, OCIO

Hats Off To You!

Susan Hyde, a benefactor of ARROW, Inc., 1951. National Congress of American Indian records, Photo folder 138, National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

This image is for anyone who has ever processed an un-organized, unlabeled, collection of photographs and completed the Sisyphean task without crying (too much).  After much squinting through a magnifying glass at tiny name labels, the National Congress of American Indians photographs have been processed. Though processing this collection had its share of frustrations, an entire box of folders labeled ‘miscellaneous’ being just one, the overall experience was incredibly fulfilling.  NCAI was, and still is, an important and influential organization in serving the needs of Native American tribal governments and communities. Making these photographs more discoverable will help to highlight NCAI’s rich history through the faces of its leaders. There is something satisfying about going back through folders and realizing you now recognize the faces staring back. For me, I’ll never be able to look at photographs of NCAI leaders Helen Peterson, Joseph Garry or Clarence Wesley, to name a few, the same way again. Be on the lookout for an updated finding aid in the near future! 

Rachel Menyuk
Archives Technician, NMAI Archive Center