Oral History Interview with William A. Butler

Object Details

Names: Frederick Douglass Memorial Home; Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (Washington, D.C.); St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.); Butler, William A.
Collection Creator: Anacostia Community Museum

Place: Anacostia (Washington, D.C.); Barry Farms (Washington, D.C.); Congress Heights (Washington, D.C.); Anacostia River (Md. and Washington, D.C.); Fort Stanton (Washington, D.C.); Anacostia Community Museum

Topic: African American men; African Americans; 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 (00:31:54). digital, 16-bit 44.1 KhZ)); 1 Sound recording ((1 sound cassette (00:31:54)))

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: William A. Butler, an African American man, talks about living in Anacostia for over sixty years from 1904 to 1966. He discusses topics such as attending Birney Elementary School, local churches such as St. Teresa's Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and Campbell AME Church, swimming and fishing in Anacostia River, and recreation at Green Willow and Eureka Parks. He also provides information about family structures, church attendance, and politics. He speaks about how Anacostia was segregated; how close knit each community (Barry Farm-Hillsdale, Congress Heights, and Uniontown) was; and his experiences with racial discrimination, including racial slurs. The interview is cut short while Butler is speaking about important landmarks in the neighborhood, including the Frederick Douglass Home and Fort Stanton. William A. Butler was interviewed in the spring of 1971 by an unnamed volunteer or staff member at the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now the Anacostia Community Museum). Digital audio files include significant white noise and static; interviewee can be heard for some parts; interview is cut short at 00:32:27 due to recording failure. The transcript is also incomplete.

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