Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAAHC.SC.0001
- Creators:
-
National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.)
- Dates:
-
1940 - Ongoing
- Languages:
-
Materials are primarily in English. Additional material in Spanish or other languages.
- Physical Description:
-
825 Digital files
- Repository:
The Great Migration is a unique, ongoing digitization service program that partners the National Museum of African American History and Culture with individuals across the United States to preserve their important analog audiovisual media. While major motion picture film and television historically lacked diverse representation, black history was instinctively being preserved in everyday home movies. Today, these personal narratives serve as an invaluable tool for understanding and re-framing black moving image history, and provide a much needed visualization of African American history and culture.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The collection contains 825 digitized audiovisual media objects. However, as an ongoing project the scope of the collection will continue to increase over time. The scope will be updated as is appropriate.
The content of the collection consists predominantly of amateur recordings created by families to document their lives. This includes major life events, such as birthdays, as well as family vacations and holidays. Additionally, the collection includes footage produced by professionals for broadcast on television. This particular footage entered the collection through partnerships with other memory institutions.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into series,file, and item-level records. Each series corresponds to the year of digitization. Each file corresponds to a family that has participated in the Great Migration program. Each item within a file corresponds to a single piece of audiovisual media, such as a film or videotape, digitized by NMAAHC staff.
Administration
Processing Information
Collection processed, described, and arranged by Ina D. Archer, Jasmyn R. Castro, Walter W. Forsberg, Alexander J. Lawrence, Harry B. McDowell, beginning in 2016 as part of the Great Migration Home Movie initiative. This project received support from the Robert Frederick Smith Fund of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Author
Ina D. Archer, Jasmyn R. Castro, Walter W. Forsberg, Alexander J. Lawrence, Harry B. McDowell.
Sponsor
This project received support from the Robert Frederick Smith Fund of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
NMAAHC creates and retains digital copies, 2016-[ongoing]. Original analog materials are not retained by the museum.
Using the Collection
Preferred Citation
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Supported by the Robert Frederick Smith Fund of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Restrictions
Collection is available online for open research.
Rights and Reproduction
The Great Migration Home Movie Study Collection, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.
Copyright for all works are retained by the creators of the original analog materials. Permissions for any use of the material may be requested from National Museum of African American History and Culture Right and Reproductions 202-633-3846.
Additions
Additions
New material is added to this collection on an ongoing basis.
Keywords
Repository Contact
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Washington, D.C. 20004
NMAAHC-ArchivalCollection@si.edu