We, Too, Celebrate You

On August 24, 2012, the library's namesake had another birthday! To celebrate this wonderful day, the library is displaying a letter written by Barbara Jackson-Nash, a former director of the Banneker-Douglass Museum (BDM), where she says, "Mrs. Sylvia Gaither continues to do a very outstanding job in the library." The current staff of the BDM agrees with her assessment. We, too, celebrate the great accomplishments of Mrs. Garrison, for she laid the foundation for the lovely library we enjoy today!

We also invite you to schedule an appointment with the archivist by calling him at 410.216.6191 to visit the library and read the rest of the letter and some of the other outstanding materials we have on Maryland's rich African American heritage. You'll be glad you did.

Pictured from left to right: Mrs. Sylvia Gaither Garrison, library namesake, and Dr. Joni Jones, Director, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, and Director, BDM

Never Can Say Goodbye

The staff of the Banneker-Douglass Museum (BDM) wishes to thank Michael Janakis, Hodson Trust Intern, for all of his hard work this summer. Michael conducted research on numerous African Americans found within the Banneker-Douglass Museum Photo Archives, notably Alex Haley, Corretta Scott King, and Cab Calloway. He helped Archivist Lynn Waller preserve many photographs within the collection, and he gave a riveting presentation to the Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation.

To tangibly express our appreciation, Lynn treated Michael to lunch at Galway Bay, an Irish restaurant in Annapolis, where he gave him a gift, An Unbroken Circle, a book about African and African American Christians.

The staff of the Banneker-Douglass Museum wishes Michael well in his quest to become an archivist.

Pictured from left to right: BDM Archivist Lynn Waller and Michael Janakis, Hodson Trust Intern

Holy Archangels Orthodox Church Visits SGGL

On Wednesday, August 8th, the Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library hosted two exciting guests from Holy Archangels Orthodox Church in Annapolis, Maryland: Father (Fr.) Robert Miclean, godfather of our SGGL intern Michael Janakis, and Brian Merriweather. Brian Merriweather is an African American convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Fr. Robert and Brian came to vist Michael at the Banneker-Douglass Museum. Michael has been sharing his experiences here at the SGGL with his church family, and was very excited to show his godfather and friend the work he has been doing. In addition, Michael and our guests from Holy Archangels have been very excited to share with the staff of the Banneker-Douglass Museum the ancient African roots of Christianity, of which most people here in America

are unaware.

Michael showed Fr. Robert and Brian the photographs he has been working to preserve, and parts of the research he has been doing for his presentation which he gave to the Banneker Douglass Museum Foundation on August 11th. Michael then gave a brief tour of the museum to his church family. Fr. Robert and Brian both enjoyed the museum very much, with both Fr. Robert and Brian expressing their desire to return with their respective families. Fr. Robert's wife, and Michael's godmother, Matushka (Russian for "mama") Krissy, is about to give birth to their first son, James, so her visit will have to wait a while!

After the tour, Michael showed Fr. Robert, Brian, and Dr. Joni Jones some pictures of an Eastern Orthodox icon corner, which we had in the BDM photo archives. In the eastern corner of every Orthodox Christian home, there is an icon corner, where icons of Christ and the saints, and holy items, are placed. This is where Orthodox Christians pray in their homes. Dr. Joni Jones was able to identify that the photographs were from the house across the street from Mr. Moriah.

Our guests from Holy Archangels and Michael were able to share some African Christian history with Dr. Jones and Lynn, including stories of African saints such as St. Moses the Black, St. Anthony the Great, St. Mary of Egypt, and St. George of Damascus. Africa was the birthplace of Christian monasticism. There have always been Orthodox Christians in Africa, long before Islam and the "return" of Christianity by the Jesuits and American missionaries. Some of the native Christians are the Coptic Orthodox Church (the Copts are the native Egyptians), the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Tewahedo means "being made one", referring to the unified wills, human and divine, of Christ), the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, which has Orthodox churches all over Africa. Our guests from Holy Archangels were also able to inform the staff about the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black (BSMB), an Orthodox organization headed by African American priest Fr. Moses Berry, which is dedicated to spreading knowledge of the African roots of Christianity to Americans. Fr. Moses Berry hosts the BSMB Annual Ancient Christianity and Afro-American Conference in Ligonier, PA. Fr. Robert and his parishoners extended their open invitation to anyone interested in learning more about ancient African Christianity to come visit Holy Archangels Orthodox Church, stay for a service, and enjoy some food and hospitality.

We would like to thank Fr. Robert and Brian, and everyone at Holy Archangels Orthodox Church for visiting us and sharing pieces of precious history with us.

Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black website http://www.mosestheblack.org/

Holy Archangels Orthodox Church website http://www.orthodoxannapolis.org/

Pictured: Father Robert shows Dr. Jones pictures of his child while Brian looks on.

Leon Bridges Oral History Interview

On June 19, 2012, Lynn Waller, archivist, interviewed Mr. Leon Bridges, founder of the Leon Bridges Company. The Leon Bridges Company performed the renovation/restoration work on the Mt. Moriah AME Church, now site of the Banneker-Douglass Museum (BDM). Mr. Bridges, as head of the company, was the first registered African American architect in the state of Maryland. Mr. Bridges generously agreed to an oral history interview, in which Lynn asked Mr. Bridges questions about his work on Mt. Moriah. The oral history interview went very well, and Mr. Bridges was very happy to share his memories and experiences in renovating Mt. Moriah. Mr. Bridges was full of energy and spirit during the interview, and seemed to very much enjoy sharing his experiences, and we at the BDM certainly enjoyed hearing about them.

Mr. Bridges allowed Michael Janakis, Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library (SGGL) intern, to sit in on the interview. Michael enjoyed the interview very much, and was even able to talk to Mr. Bridges privately while Lynn performed some tasks. Mr. Bridges and Michael were able to talk about the Harlem Renaissance, and Mr. Bridges recommended some books to Michael. Mr. Bridges was also able to help Michael identify his employees on the Mt. Moriah project, Shesh Shastry and Orin Bullock, in some of our archival photographs. Shesh Shastry was the Senior Designer on the renovation project.

Mr. Bridges also showed the SGGL staff and Dr. Joni Jones some slides from his company's restoration of Mt. Moriah. Mr. Bridges generously allowed us to make copies of his slides for our records.

We at the Banneker-Douglass Museum would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Bridges for taking the times to share his memories and experiences here at Mt. Moriah AME Church with us. We at the BDM were so very glad to have hosted him.

Pictured: Architect Leon Bridges

SGGL Staff Attends HBCU Photographic Preservatioin Workshop at Bowie

Lynn Waller, archivist, and Michael Janakis, intern, attended the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Photographic Preservation Workshop at Bowie State University on July 31st-August 2nd. This conference was a 3 day workshop which allowed both Lynn and Michael to gain hands-on experience and much knowledge in photographic preservation techniques.

On July 31st, the first day of the conference, Lynn and Michael learned about different archives-quality housings (housings are the storage units in which photos are "housed," including envelopes, sleeves, folders, and boxes). They were also able to learn how to create various housings, such as tuxedo boxes, folders for panoramic photographs, and other archives- quality folders from archives-approved cardstock and other materials.

On August 1st, Lynn and Michael constructed book cradles, which are used in archives facilities to protect and support fragile books while researchers examine them. In the afternoon, Lynn and Michael were treated to lectures and slide shows about digitization techniques, including tips on how to determine the best situations in which to digitize photographs, and the best ways to grant access to digitized prints.

On August 2nd, the final day of the conference, Lynn and Michael were given lectures on cold storage techniques. Cold storage is used for extended preservation of fragile or unstable graphics, such as color photographs (all color photographs are very suceptible to fading). They were also able to practice packing photographic housings for cold storage, because cold storage necessitates special wrappings in order to control humidity. In the afternoon of the final day, Lynn and Michael were allowed to practice removing old photographs from their frames, in preparation for preservation.

The HBCU Photographic Preservation Workshop was a lot of fun, and very informative. Lynn and Michael were both able to learn lots of new information and techniques from the workshops, and were allowed to keep everything they made. The conference brought together conservators, preservationists, archivists, librarians, and historians, all of whom shared information and learned together.