Community

Smith Center Gallery

Through unforeseen challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, brutality and injustice, we continue to find community. Creativity is central to our efforts to connect with collaborators and visitors.

James Fairfax: Combat Artist

James Fairfax is a former Marine Master Sergeant and an accomplished fine artist, graphic designer,and model maker. He served as Combat Artist in Vietnam from December 1968 to February 1970. His artistic practice represents an important confluence of creativity and historical documentation.

We met Mr. Fairfax when he attended a Community Curation public program at NMAAHC. The Smith Center's preservation field work is enriched by learning from the experiences of community members who utilize varied methods to keep memory and make meaning. View a segment of our interview with Mr. Fairfax, as well a selection of his paintings, below:

Expand All

Christmas Tree

A painting of people crowded around the table

Game of Jacks

Gunship

Point Man

The Rifleman

Triage

See more from our interview with James Fairfax:

Black Liberation and the Vietnam War

Documenting the Movement

Smith Center Photographer Leah L. Jones has been documenting moments in history from behind the lens.

Below are some of the images of protest and resilience she captured on the ground in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Washington, D.C.

Black street sign attached to pole that reads Black Lives Matter in white text — Black Lives Matter Plaza, Washington, D.C.

Image of a clenched black fist surrounded by grass and clouds drawn on plywood surrounded by bricks — #BlackLivesMatter, Chicago, IL

Image of writing in black and green letters that reads "Silence benefits the oppressor" — Silence benefits the Oppressor, Milwaukee, WI

Crowd of Protestor's with kneeling on public street — Protestors kneeling, Washington, D.C.

Mural of black woman in a black dress holding leaning scales in left hand and Black Lives Matter sign in right hand drawn on plywood — Lady Justice, Chicago, IL

Mural of George Floyd — George Floyd Mural, Milwaukee, WI

Black man standing in street wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey — Protestor wearing Colin Kaepernick jersey, Washington, D.C.

Cardboard sign that reads Breonna Taylor Say Her Name taped to black pole — Say Her Name, Chicago, IL

Mural that reads Joy comes in the Mourning in red and yellow text — Mural that reads Joy comes in the mourning, Milwaukee, WI

White text on black sign attached to tiki torch that reads We March for HOPE not for HATE and we won't STOP BLM — Protest sign, Washington, D.C.

Woman standing in front of a mural on side walk Mural has blue background with image of a woman with Afro that reads Black Lives Matter on her afro and speech bubble that reads Stronger Together with raised clenched black fists on right side — Stronger Together, Chicago, IL

Mural of Three hands holding up sign language letters B, L, M — Three hands showing the sign language letters for BLM, Milwaukee, WI

Voices of Resistance and Hope Digital Collecting Initiative
Launched June 2020

Smith Center Newsletter:
Volume 2 Issue 1

Preview the forthcoming issue of our Smith Center newsletter with photos of our nationwide collaborative projects

Community Curation in New Orleans

Visit the link below to view photos from our New Orleans Community Curation.
NOLA Photos

Community Archiving Workshop at Saint Paul's College

Two people standing in a room full of historical materials

AJ Lawrence and CK Ming in the archives during a site visit

Teya Whitehead, Secretary of the James Solomon Russell/Saint Paul's College Museum and Archives

A large building with people walking in front of it

Walking the grounds of Saint Paul's College

Stately desolation, photographed by Leah Jones

Saint Paul's College Library

Sterling Warren and Angela Winand at work

Smith Center and JSR|SPC staff members ready for the Community Archiving Workshop

CK Ming sharing knowledge about media preservation

Three people standing near a box of documents

Conservator Valinda Carroll, Community Archiving Workshop Organizer Mona Jimenez, and JSR|SPC Museum and Archives Vice Chairman Bobby Conner

A person in front of a projected image on a wall

JSR|SPC Museum and Archives Chairman James Grimstead

Two people at a table working on computers

Blake McDowell at work creating an inventory of media objects

A person speaking to in front of a wall with a projected image

AJ Lawrence presenting information to participants

Three people sitting at a table covered with papers and documents

Volunteers helping to create an inventory

Media Archives Technician Emily Nabasny working with volunteers

Two people, one standing and one sitting, in conversation

Hannah Scruggs in the midst of collaboration

A computer and a person holding a floppy disk

Building an inventory

Making discoveries

Bobby Conner welcoming participants to the Community Archiving Workshop

Dr. Doretha Williams introducing the Smith Center to workshop participants

A person holding up two historic documents

Saint Paul's College history lives on

Community Archiving Workshop participants together for a common goal

A person in a dark space working with imaging equipment

The work continues, Robert F. Smith Intern John W. Cooper III digitizes photos from Scurlock Photography Colletion from JSR|SPC

A person at a computer looking at an image

Robert F. Smith Intern Nateya Taylor digitizing JSR|SPC Scurlock Collection photographs

Building Capacity Through Equipment Gifting

Historic 18th & Vine District - Kansas City, MO

Dr. Carmaletta Williams, Executive Director of the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City, MO

People in a dark room viewing a projected image on a wall

Viewing a recent work

Archives awaiting research

Knowledge everywhere you turn

Slides, each frame a world of its own

"On Strike, No Contract, Wake Up Black American"

A photograph of people in a pointed line

Imagine the stories connected to this image

Nathan Mason touring an exhibition

Compelling installations at the Black Archives of Mid-America

Meeting collaborators at the American Jazz Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate

Media in the archives

Coordinating the work at the American Jazz Museum

Louis Armstrong

John Coltrane's dogtags

James E. Lewis Museum of Art at Morgan State University - Baltimore, MD

People in a museum space reading wall text

An apropos exhibition at the James E. Lewis Museum of Art

Dr. Schroeder Cherry, Curator of the James E. Lewis Museum of Art

A person speaking in front of a painting

Robin Howard, Associate Director of the Center of Museums and Historical Preservation at Morgan State University

Touring Morgan State University's art collections

History reaches out to us

Two people speaking in an artwork storage area

Dr. Schroeder Cherry detailing colleciton stewardship

Three people at a table in the midst of discussion

Designing a framework for collaboration

Six people standing in front of a wall with artworks

Smith Center and JELMA-MSU collaborators

Shorefront Legacy - Evanston, IL

Shorefront Legacy Founder Dino Robinson showing a special collection item

A photograph of well-dressed men in a line on a set of steps

Arrangement and style

Legendary House music mixes being preserved at Shorefront

Two people looking into a box of video cassettes

AJ Lawrence and Sterling Warren hunting for visual media

Four people standing in between shelves of archival materials

A wealth of materials in the Shorefront's archives

Four people looking at a paper document in an archival box

Every object tells a story

The raw material for future knowledge production

A photo of two people and two small children

1,000 words.

Community in action

Will by Jessie Maple

The Smith Center continues to fortify relationships with artists, historians, and collecting institutions across the country, collaborating to digitize and expand access to vulnerable collections related to the African American experience.

Our most recent project is the digitization of pioneering director Jessie Maple’s 1981 film, Will.

Browse selections From The Great Migration Home Movie Project