Some news: we have repurposed our DC storytelling system to start gathering stories of community resilience around Covid-19 and recent protests. This effort is based at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, and was profiled by NPR and WUSA9 (see below).
Callers can still hear amazing oral histories of DC residents from the exhibition A Right to the City (including recordings from prior callers). But the hotline has also become a way to gather audio stories from the street and from residents without easy access to fancy apps or recording equipment. Initially, we were focused purely on Covid-19, but once the protests arose, the museum’s director embraced the need to capture resilience around the “dual pandemic” on DC streets.
Stories can be called or emailed in:
NPR broadcast a story about the project nationally (“The Smithsonian Is Collecting Coronavirus ‘Artifacts’ To Document The Pandemic” by Mikaela Lefrak, May 20, 2020).
WUSA9 also covered the project on TV news (“Anacostia Community Museum wants your local ‘Moments of Resilience’ stories for digital exhibit” by Mikea Turner, May 27 2020).