Object Details
- Creator
- Finlayson, Alice Bell
- Names
- Anacostia Neighborhood Museum
- Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge
- New York University. School of Education
- Public Schools of the District of Columbia
- Finlayson, Alice Bell
- Place
- Washington (D.C.)
- Topic
- African American educators
- Community organization
- African American neighborhoods
- Creator
- Finlayson, Alice Bell
- See more items in
- Alice Bell Finlayson papers
- Summary
- The Alice Bell Finlayson papers, which date from 1901 to 1990 and measure 5.16 linear feet, document the career of educator, community organizer, and journalist Alice Bell Finlayson. The papers are comprised of books, correspondence, curriculum vitae, documents from community organizations, journals, magazines newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks.
- Biographical/Historical note
- Alice Bell Finlayson was born in Washington, DC in 1902. She attended Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, and in 1922, she graduated from Miner Teachers College. She went on to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree in sociology from Howard University. While pursuing her degrees she began working for the District of Columbia Public Schools. In 1922 she took a position as a 1st grade teacher at the Garrison-Cleveland School. For fourteen of her thirty-seven years with the District of Columbia Public Schools she served as principal of James G. Birney Elementary School. During her tenure at Birney she implemented several special programs designed to improve student outcomes. These programs addressed the needs of general education, gifted, and special education students. Students participated in reading and arts programs, as well as programs designed to promote healthy living and cultural awareness. Special education students developed life skills by working in building maintenance, and by providing other support services to the school. Mrs. Finlayson also established a research division within the school to develop testing instruments. As a result of these innovations, Birney became a training school for new teachers. Moreover, the District's Board of Education implemented some of the Birney programs district-wide. The school also won three Freedoms Foundation awards. Mrs. Finlayson resigned as principal in January of 1959 and went on to hold other employment. She was a lecturer at Morgan State University, a program assistant at Howard University, and coordinator for several community programs. Beyond her regular employment she worked with various local and national civic organizations. She was a founding member of the Community Coordinating Organization, which was a coalition of District of Columbia community organizations. As chairman of the Women's Civic Guild she raised funds for community projects and for other organizations such as the NAACP. She was an active member of the community up until her death on November 27, 2000.
- Extent
- 5.16 Linear feet (7 boxes)
- Date
- 1901-1992
- bulk 1938-1972
- Provenance
- The Alice Bell Finlayson papers were donated to the Anacostia Community Museum in 2003.
- Archival Repository
- Anacostia Community Museum Archives
- Identifier
- ACMA.06-003
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Clippings
- Scrapbooks
- Books
- Photographic prints
- Periodicals
- Photographs
- Papers
- Sketches
- Citation
- Alice Bell Finlayson papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
- Arrangement note
- The papers are organized into six series. The Biographical and Printed Materials series are further arranged into subseries. The content of each series is arranged alphabetically. The series are arranged as follows: Series 1: Biographical Subseries 1.1: Autobiographical Subseries 1.2: Education Subseries 1.3: Employment Series 2: Community Organizations Series 3: Correspondence Series 4: Photographs Series 5: Printed material Subseries 5.1: Books Subseries 5.2: Government publications Subseries 5.3: Journal Articles Subseries 5.4: Museum catalogs and curriculum Series 6: Miscellaneous
- Processing Information note
- Finding aid prepared by Vuanya T. Cyrus, 2009-07-01. Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Bauerle, 2011-12.
- Rights
- The Alice Bell Finlayson papers are the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
- Genre/Form
- Clippings
- Scrapbooks
- Books
- Photographic prints
- Periodicals
- Photographs
- Papers
- Sketches
- Scope and Contents note
- This collection documents the life of Alice Bell Finlayson between 1922 and 1990. It contains materials related to Mrs. Finlayson's employment and community service. Included in the collection are academic writings, books, correspondence, curriculum, personnel records, photographs, and printed materials.
- Restrictions
- Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
- The collection is open for unrestricted research. Use requires an appointment.
- Record ID
- ebl-1503512416418-1503512416424-0
In the Collection
Pages
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