A look at Anacostia Community Museum exhibit 'The African Presence in Mexico' - washingtonpost.com: Telling stories that have largely been ignored: Such has the mission always been for the Anacostia Community Museum. Behind its doors, typically, are hidden treasures unearthed, tales hardly told, customs all but forgotten.
The raison d'etre of the small museum, part of the sprawling Smithsonian Institution family, remains the same, but as the Afro-Mexican faces just behind the lapis doors to the main gallery attest these days, its newest show is also a strong indication that the institution is evolving.
Witness its current exhibition, 'The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present.' It is a collaboration of six organizations, including art from the collection of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, financial assistance from the Smithsonian Latino Center and program support from the Mexican Cultural Institute, both in Washington. The exhibition does have its roots firmly in Anacostia's long tradition of exploring racial identity -- through the prisms of everything from black churches to holidays and baseball teams.
