Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum Search this
Extent:
2 Digital files
1 Sound cassette
Type:
Archival materials
Digital files
Sound cassettes
Place:
Puerto Rico
Washington (D.C.)
United States
Date:
circa 1992-1993
Scope and Contents:
Sonia Gutierrez, director of the Carlos Rosario Adult Education Center, spoke in detail about the origin, students, services, successes, challenges, and evolution of PEILA (Program of English Instruction for Latin Americans) and the Carlos Rosario Adult Education Center in Washington, DC. She also spoke about struggles faced by Latinos, including the anti-immigrant climate; the political activism and demonstrations to keep Latino education programs funded; and how the Black community and Latino community worked together to fight for home rule in Washington, DC.
Gutierrez described the evolution of the Latino community in the Washington, DC, including the shift of leadership and how current leadership differed from early leadership. She detailed the long path to establish the Office of Latino Affairs in Washington, DC, which started with a sit-in outside of Mayor Washington's office; and the founding of the Council of Latino Agencies. She also discussed the roles of Marion Barry throughout this activism work.
Gutierrez spoke about Latinos' immigration statuses and the decision making processes around becoming a United States citizen. She also briefly spoke about coming to Washington, DC in 1971, growing up in Puerto Rico in a middle class family and attending private school, her marriages, and being inducted into DC's Women's Hall of Fame.
Sonia Gutierrez was interviewed by Hector Corporan. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static; interviewee's voice is intelligible.
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.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
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.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
The Robinson and Via Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Preservation of the 8mm films in this collection was made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Film Preservation Fund.
The papers of community organizer and affordable housing developer Marie Satenik Nahikian measure 3.46 linear feet and date from 1971 to 1998. The collection contains correspondence; certificates; photographs; newsletters; campaign ephemera; editions of various Washington, DC community newspapers; as well as recordings of Nahikian's speeches. The bulk of the collection contains documents pertaining to Nahikian's work with the Adams Morgan Organization.
The papers of community organizer and affordable housing developer Marie Satenik Nahikian measure 3.46 linear feet and date from 1971 to 1998. The collection includes copies of the Rock Creek Monitor, the newspaper of Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan and Mt. Pleasant communities of Washington, DC. Present in the collection are also proclamations, newspaper clippings, writings by Nahikian and materials related to her role for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for ANC-1C (in Adams Morgan) and unsuccessful campaign for D.C. City Council.
Biographical / Historical:
Marie Satenik Nahikian was a co-founder and the first Executive Director of the Adams
Morgan Organization (AMO, founded in 1972). Before Washington, DC had Home Rule,
AMO put into practice a local, elected self-governance structure that advocated for
issues of concern to residents of the Adams Morgan neighborhood. AMO served as the
main model for the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that were created when Home
Rule was implemented in Washington, DC. Marie S. Nahikian, particularly through her
work with AMO, was a staunch advocate and partial architect of three landmark pieces
of tenant rights and anti-displacement legislation in DC: the 1975 Rental
Accommodations Act, the 1978 Residential Real Property Transfer Excise Tax, and the
1980 Rental Housing Conversion and Sale Act.
Nahikian was elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for ANC-1C (in Adams
Morgan) and twice ran for D.C.City Council (unsuccessfully). She was appointed by
Mayor Walter Washington (1915-2003) to serve two terms as a Tenant Commissioner
on the D.C. Rental Accommodations Commission. She later served under Mayor
Marion Barry (1936-2014) as head of the Tenant Purchase Program that enabled
largely low- and moderate-income tenants to purchase and become cooperative owners
of their buildings.
After leaving Washington, DC, she went on to work for Mayors in Philadelphia and New
York City. Nahikian also worked in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development under President Barack Obama.
In 2023, Marie Satenik Nahikian hosts the Usable Past podcast, where activists share
their stories of past and present organizing to create better lives for as many people as
possible.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
The Marie Satenik Nahikian papers are the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
