On November 8th and 9th, the Historical Society and the Smithsonian Institution hosted “Save Our African American Treasures,” a program initiative of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). While the final tally isn’t yet available, estimates indicate that at least five hundred people turned out for the two-day event. The “Save Our African American Treasures” program kicked off in January 2008 and has been hosted in cities across the country in the years since; the November 2014 event was billed as the final – and wildly successful – installment in the NMAAHC’s program.
Many attendees brought their family’s personal treasures with them; others came to attend preservation workshops and learn more about community partners such as the Historical Society; the Special Collections of the D.C. Public Library; Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of D.C.; and the Military Road School Preservation Trust.
Professional conservators, curators and collections managers contributed their expertise throughout the weekend, identifying historical items and providing preservation guidance to owners of busts, dolls, paintings, photographs, quilts, clothing, personal letters, ephemera and more.
Next week we’ll offer a look at some of items that came to light as a result of the program; in the meantime, check out what the Washington Post; NBC4; CBS DC; WTOP and others had to say about the event!
