Oral History Interview with Florine Smith McLendon

Object Details

Names: Douglass Hall (Washington, D.C.); Smoot family; Dale, John Henry, Jr., 1888-1973; McLendon, Florine Smith, 1896-1994?; Smith, Jennie Greene, 1907-1995; Smith, Stanley; Smoot, James
Collection Creator: Anacostia Community Museum

Topic: African American women; African Americans; Community development; Police-community relations; Anacostia Neighborhood Museum; exhibit

See more items in: Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records; Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records / Series 2: Interviews

Sponsor: Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).

Extent: 1 Sound recording ((1 data disk DVD-R digital, 24-bit 96kHz WAV.))); 1 Sound recording ((1 sound disk CD-R (00:37:33). digital, 16-bit 44.1 KhZ)); 1 Sound recording ((1 sound cassette (00:37:33)))

Type: Archival materials; Audio; Sound recordings; Oral histories (document genres)

Collection Citation: Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Collection Rights: Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Scope and Contents note: Florine Smith McLendon, an African American woman born around 1896, discusses growing up in and around Anacostia with her brother, Stanley Smith. McLendon talks about the geographic segregation of white and African American residents, the Anacostia Bank (now the Anacostia National Bank), the Hillsdale Civic Association and the Barry Farm Civic Association, and Douglass Hall. Other topics of discussion include the building of the community center and low-income houses, the work of the community leaders, such as John Henry Dale Jr. and James Smoot as well as their families, and the changing presence of the police force. She ends the interview talking about the sanitation, transportation, and newspapers available when she was younger. Florine Smith McLendon was interviewed on December 5, 1970, by an unnamed volunteer or staff member at the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now the Anacostia Community Museum). Digital audio files include white noise and static; interviewee can be heard clearly for most parts.

Restrictions: Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.