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Oral history interview with Evelyne Atkins, Nadia Adams, and Eric Atkins

Anacostia Community Museum

Object Details

General
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Names
Adams, Nadia
Atkins, Eric
Atkins, Evelyne
Collection Creator
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum
Place
Haiti
Washington (D.C.)
United States
Topic
Haitians
Women
African Americans
Emigration and immigration
Manners and customs
Catholicism
Race
Dating (Social customs)
Intermarriage
Child rearing
Assimilation (Sociology)
Discipline of children
Interviews
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
circa 1992-1993
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 20 minutes.
Scope and Contents
Evelyne Atkins and Nadia Adams spoke about their memories of living in Haiti as children, without their parents for several years; leaving Haiti and migrating to the United States in 1969; and their first experiences, including readjusting themselves to their parents, in the United States. They both consider themselves Haitian. Atkins and Adams explained how their parents instilled Haitian culture during their upbringing; why they had few or no American friends in school; how they plan to raise their children, including discipline, teaching language, and instilling Haitian history, culture, and traditions; and the differences between their marriages and their parent's marriage, specifically being married to an American man versus a Haitian man. Note, Adams had children at time of interview. Atkins and Adams spoke about dating Haitian and American men before they were married, their weddings, Catholicism, intercultural marriage, their assimilation into American culture, their involvement in the Haitian community currently and when a teenager, type of music they listen to, how Haitians raise and discipline their children, family heirlooms, how they decorate their home, the type of art they like, and going to specialty markets to get Haitian food. They also spoke about Haitian traditions, including New Year's and saving seeds from oranges, and the mixing of Haitian and American foods for Thanksgiving dinner. Eric Atkins, Evelyne's second husband, spoke about why he was interested in dating and marrying a woman from a different culture; experiencing Haitian food and traditions; his interest in Haitian music, dance, and culture, and learning French and Creole; soccer games; wanting to visit Haiti and buy property in Haiti; being raised Catholic; disciplining his kids in his first marriage; and intercultural marriage. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static, and some background noise. Interviewees' voices are intelligible for the most part.
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-1712088000981-1712088003358-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa71a22d157-b694-42f4-9c8b-25bed7f69e4d

Related Content

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

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