Anacostia Community Museum Archives

A Finding Aid to the Labat: A Creole Legacy Project Records, 2001-2004, in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives

Summary

Collection ID:
ACMA.06-082
Creators:
Gordon, Lori K.
Dates:
2001-2004
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.31 Linear feet
2 boxes; audiocassettes, videocassettes, floppy disk, CDs
Repository:
The
Labat: A Creole Legacy
project records, which dates from 2001 to 2004 and measure 1.31 linear feet, contain materials documenting the creation of artist Lori K. Gordon's quilt, titled "Labat: a Creole Legacy," and the life of Celestine Labat. The collection is composed of audiocassettes, videocassettes, floppy disks, CDs, transcripts, newspaper clippings, writings, notes, correspondence, notecards, and postcards.

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
The
Labat: A Creole Legacy
project records, 2001-2004, contain material related to the creation of the
Labat: A Creole Legacy
quilt. The quilt, based on the life and family history of Celestine Labat, was created by the artist Lori K. Gordon and acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 2004.
Series 1: Writings contains correspondence, writings, notes, and speeches by Gordon her life, work, and research on Labat family history, and friendship with Labat.
Series 2: Interview Transcripts consist of transcripts of Gordon's interviews of Labat.
Series 3: Printed Materials consists of newspaper clippings and artwork related to Labat, Gordon, and the quilt.
Series 4: Audiovisual Materials consists of 21 audiocassettes and 4 videocassettes containing interview material.
Series 5: Digital Materials consists of 1 floppy disk and 3 CDs containing images and documents related to creation of the quilt.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Material in the
Labat: A Creole Legac
y project records is arranged into five series by subject and material type. Series 1 through 3 are housed in Box 1, and Series 4 and 5 are housed in Box 2. Where possible, material within series has been arranged by item type and date.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
    Biography of Celestine Labat
    Celestine Labat (1898-2002), educator and traveler, was born and raised in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in a large Creole family. Her mother Leonora Fayard was a homemaker, and her father Joseph Labat, known as "Papa Joe," was a builder and engineer. Celestine Labat's education would have been limited to eighth grade due to racial discrimination, but she moved to Indianapolis and did domestic work in order to finish high school. Upon graduation, she returned to Mississippi and became a secondary school teacher. After a decade of teaching, her desire for higher education prompted a move to Washington, DC, where she attained a bachelor's degree in science during the years of WWII. She continued teaching, moving to San Antonio, Texas, then Los Angeles, California, where she got her master's degree in education at the University of Southern California. She again returned to Mississippi and taught at St. Augustine Seminary for twenty years before retiring at age 72. She remained active until the last years of her life, and at age 102 was the featured speaker at a Hancock County Historical Society luncheon where she met artist Lori K. Gordon. Their collaboration lasted until her death in 2002.
    Biography of Lori K. Gordon
    Lori K. Gordon (1958-), visual artist, is originally from eastern South Dakota but now makes her home in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Her work reflects her interest in social issues and her environment, such as the "Katrina Collection," in which Gordon made art from found objects after her studio and community were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Her meeting with Celestine Labat in 2000 was the start of a friendship and collaboration that resulted in the art quilt, "Labat: A Creole Legacy," acquired in 2004 by the Smithsonian institution. Gordon's work spans arts forms including sculpture, collage, and painting, and is in public and private collections around the world. She is also the founder and president of Six Degrees Consortium, a nonprofit organization created to "enable the creation and dissemination of works of art that are socially relevant, timely, build bridges across cultures and that address the issues faced by humans in an ever-shrinking world."

Administration

Author
Katie Seitz
Processing Information note
The collection were processed by volunteer Katie Seitz with the assistance of archivist Jennifer Morris.
Immediate Source of Acquisiton note
The
Labat: A Creole Legacy
project records were donated to the Anacostia Community Museum in 2004 by Lori K. Gordon.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use note
The
Labat: A Creole Legacy
project records are the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to Lori K. Gordon or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information contact the Museum Archives.
Conditions Governing Access note
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Preferred Citation note
Labat: A Creole Legacy
Project records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Lori K. Gordon.

Related Archival Materials note
Related material held by the Anacostia Community Museum:
Other related material:

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Transcripts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American families Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Postcards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Videocassettes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American women educators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American women Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiocassettes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African Americans -- Race identity Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Creoles Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mississippi Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral histories (document genres) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Floppy disks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
CD-ROMs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Articles Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
VHS (videotape format) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Labat, Celestine Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Anacostia Community Museum Archives
1901 Fort Place, SE
Washington, D.C. 20020
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-4853
ACMArchives@si.edu