This episode of the TV show, Discovery ‘70, dates to the year 1970. Discovery (in several incarnations) was an innovative historical, cultural and educational documentary TV series for children that aired from 1962-1971 on ABC. It was originally hosted by Frank Buxton on aired on weekdays, but for most of the Sixties it could be found on Saturday afternoons or Sunday mornings. This episode features host Bill Owen (he succeeded Buxton in 1966), and offers a look at the early years of the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum in Washington, D.C., now known as the Anacostia Community Museum. While the organization’s mission to serve the black community by teaching African American history and awareness is outlined, the host places heavy emphasis on an exhibit called, “The Rat: Man’s Invited Affliction” (TRT: 22:40).
The skyline of Washington, D.C. (0:08). A rat eats pellets in a museum exhibit installation A family watches Norway rats (aka brown rats) through a glass window (0:16). Animated opening titles (0:37). Host Bill Owen in Southeast D.C. or Anacostia. Children outside Gladys K McGogney Elementary School. Kids sled down a steep hill on sheets of cardboard. Vacant lots filled with garbage. An abandoned car without tires. Public housing (1:05). Cooper’s Restaurant. Bill Owen approaches the exterior of the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, in its original location, a repurposed movie theater (2:07). Alvin Prue plays piano while another man joins in singing (3:03). Young children “picket” with protest signs, “Museum to Little Peeple” and “Grown-ups are Unfair” (3:53). The Columbians, a choral group of singers in dashikis (4:05). Narration mentions museum co-founder Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Museum. Museum Director and community activist John Kinard and Councilman Stanley Anderson appear on screen (5:00). A fashion show. Women model African style clothing with bright colors and animal prints. A man wears a kufi (5:46). Teenagers discuss the live rat exhibit in a community meeting (6:27). The Frederick Douglass Home. Photos and illustrations of Douglass’ life. The Emancipation Memorial statue (7:20). A dilapidated sign for “The All New Harlequin Lounge.” An abandoned automobile. Trash on a playground. Rats. Graffiti: “Black Respect.” A dog and a dumpster. Black children. An open window. Extended shots of garbage and rats in the exhibit (9:01). Young children approach the exhibit kiosk’s glass windows (11:15). A little girl speaks to her teacher. Two boys smile through the exhibit window (12:06). A girl says she saw a rat on her porch (13:52). Bill Owen stands before a “wanted” poster for “one of the black community’s main enemies,” with an illustration of a rat (14:24). A photography studio darkroom. John Kinard speaks to photographer Michael Fisher, standing before photographic printing equipment (15:03). A man and a boy work with clay, forming a sculpture of two men on horseback (16:00). A craft studio decorated with drawings and paintings offers a children’s art class. A spinning potter’s wheel. A boy works on a linocut still-life (16:14). Gail Pettigrew silkscreens Christmas cards (17:17). A man in a dashiki drives a truck, which houses a “mobile unit” of traveling exhibits. A djembe sits in the back of the truck with an mbira and several African artifacts (17:46). A classroom crafts workshop. Jim Campbell, a former model-maker at the Smithsonian, mixes plaster and pours it into molds as boys watch (18:24). Painting a piece of pottery (19:39). Bill Owen passes posters from past Anacostia exhibits, including, “Frederick Douglass Years” (20:23). Several book recommendations are offered: “Black Pride” by Janet Harris and Julius Hobson; Cities Are People by S. Carl Hirsch; The Riot Report by Barbara Ritchie (21:30). The Columbians choir returns (21:51).
Founded as the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum and opened in 1967, the Anacostia Community Museum served as an early model for community museums and a principal force in the African American museum movement. It remains in operation in a new location.
This episode of Discovery ‘70 was produced by Jules Power in association with ABC News.
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