Letter from S. Dillon Ripley to John J. Rooney, dated February 21, 1974

Summary

A letter from Secretary S. Dillon Ripley to Smithsonian Board of Regents member, John J. Rooney, U.S. Representative from New York, dated February 21, 1974. Ripley replies to Rooney's letter regarding the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum and the celebration of Kwanzaa. He states that the the goal of the exhibits and programs is to speak to the needs and interests of the surrounding community, and that the museum set aside a week in December to explain and interpret the festival of Kwanzaa. Ripley goes on to explain that the museum displays materials related to widely divergent groups and ideas, and this does not entail an endorsement of any philosophy or group. He points out the differences between Kwanzaa and Christmas and the errors in a Washington Post article about Kwanzaa in Washington, D.C.

Subject

• Rooney, John James
• Regents Smithsonian Institution
• Anacostia Neighborhood Museum
• Washington Post
• United States Congress

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 349, Box 1, Folder: 3

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

• February, 21, 1974
• 20th century

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Holidays
• Secretaries
• United States Congress, Relations with SI
• Kwanzaa
• African Americans

Place

• District of Columbia
• United States
• Washington, D.C
• Washington (D.C.)

Form/Genre

• Paper
• Letters (correspondence)

ID Number

SIA2016-011463 and SIA2016-011464

Physical description

Number of Images: 2; Color: Color; Size: 8.5w x 11h; Type of Image: Document; Medium: paper

Full Record

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