National Park Service Statement on the Moving of the National Archives of Black Women's History
Archives Relocate to Museum Resource Center
New location provides modern care for historic collections
Contact: Gopaul Noojibail, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202-690-5127
WASHINGTON — Consistent with its mission to preserve the nation’s treasures, the National Park Service (NPS) will relocate the National Archives for Black Women’s History collection from Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site to the NPS’s Museum Resource Center in Landover, Maryland. The relocation is in response to a site evaluation that documented inadequate conditions to appropriately house the archives.
The Museum Resource Center is the central curatorial facility for more than 5 million documents and museum objects from national parks throughout the region. It features modern environmental systems that maintain appropriate humidity and temperature, research laboratories and a cold storage vault for sensitive materials. The facility already houses some material from the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House collections alongside those from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, Arlington House, Clara Barton National Historic Site and other national parks.
The archives will be closed beginning February 18 through March 9, 2014. Researchers may request appointments for March 10 and after by contacting the Museum Resource Center at (301) 832-3967 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The NPS will evaluate whether it’s feasible to return the National Archives for Black Women’s History to Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site. For additional information please visit www.nps.gov/mamc.
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, 1318 Vermont Avenue, NW, will remain open (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 7-days a week) to interpret the legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune, the National Council of Negro Women, and other associated Civil Rights organizations and leaders, including notable figures such as Dr. Dorothy Height.
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A Welcome from the National Director
Founded in 1979, the Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH) is a dynamic network of scholars representing every region of the country. The organization's goals are to support black women in the historical profession, disseminate information by, for and about black women and promote scholarship by and about black women. We are relaunching our organization into the 21st century.
The annual meeting and luncheon are held each year in conjunction with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) conference. The ABWH sponsored sessions are always enlightening and well attended and the luncheon features some of the most noted and respected scholars in the field of black women's history. I invite you to learn more about the organization and encourage you to support it by becoming a member.
Sincerely,
Ida E. Jones, Ph.D.
National Director
