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Oral history interview with Curtis Ward

Anacostia Community Museum

Object Details

General
Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.  The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings. 
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Names
Howard University
Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940
Marley, Bob
Ward, Curtis A.
Collection Creator
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum
Place
Jamaica
Washington (D.C.)
United States
Occupation
Lawyers
Topic
Jamaican Americans
African Americans
Manners and customs
Rastafari movement
Reggae music
Education
Emigration and immigration
Emigration and immigration law
Discrimination
Racism
Stereotypes (Social psychology)
Taxicab drivers
Discipline of children
Associations, institutions, etc.
Interviews
Culture
Jamaicans
See more items in
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records / Series 3: Oral History Interviews
Sponsor
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Extent
2 Digital files
1 Sound cassette
Date
1993 February 01
Archival Repository
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
Type
Archival materials
Digital files
Sound cassettes
Citation
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Note
The total playing time of interview recording is approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Scope and Contents
Curtis Ward spoke about his parents and his siblings, growing up on a small farm in a rural area in Jamaica, the businesses his father managed, primary school and high school, discipline in the school and in the community, and where he worked before he left Jamaica to attend Howard University. Ward spoke about his experiences when he first arrived in the United States, as a student at Howard University for undergraduate study and law school, working for the embassy of Jamaica, leaving civil service, and establishing a law practice. He also talked about his involvement within the Jamaican community in Washington, DC area, including his time as president of Jamaican Nationals Association; working as taxicab driver; his wife and children, including how he disciplined his children and their Jamaican heritage pride; the feeling of freedom when stepping off plane in Jamaica; cooking Jamaican style food at home; his various residence statuses in the United States; music, including Bob Marley and reggae music, and warning labels on records; influence of Jamaicans and Rastafarians on the community; legacy of Marcus Garvey; discrimination of Jamaicans and stereotyping of Jamaicans in the United States; his thoughts on the television show "Going to Extremes"; immigration reform under Reagan and its impact; and the importance of family and Jamaican culture. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include very loud white noise and static, and some sound distortions / voices distorted. Interviewee can be heard and voices are intelligible for most of the interview.
Collection Restrictions
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1712088000981-1712088003351-1
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7eb828449-95f3-4efd-80b8-a605cd24f3e7

Related Content

  • Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records

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