28 june 1968 & neighbors inc. art & book festival a success
#OTD 28 June 1968 Neighbors Inc. (6400 Georgia Ave, NW) was still buzzing about its 6th annual Art & Book Festival that took place last weekend at Coolidge HS (5th & Tuckerman Sts, NW). The festival was held 22-23 June, 10am-7pm. A reception for exhibitors and "other distinguished guests" was held on the evening of 21 June.
Maijah Hay served as chairperson of the festival, which required months of extensive planning, organizing and supervising her team of volunteers. Elsa Denham served as chair of refreshments. Thelma C. Lee, served as chair of the bake sale. Ethylyn De Stefano served as chair of professional art. Karen L. Wardlaw served as chair of publicity. These chairpersons led their respective committees.
The festival had become a major event in the city, "attracting thousands of area residents and visitors each year." The festival features included:
1,000+ original works of art on exhibition and for sale by professional & amateur artists
10,000 used books and records
30 craftspeople exhibiting and selling ceramics, handicrafts, pottery, jewelry, weaving and more
outdoor rides and games, movies, refreshments for children
demonstrations of glassblowing, glass cutting and use of pottery wheel
two magicians and a folksinger
children's talent show
paint-in for children
bake sale
Erika Thiney Dance Troupe
Neighbors Inc., was founded in 1958 to organize toward and maintain racially integrated neighborhoods in opposition to white real estate agents seeking to convince white homeowners in and near Shepherd Park to sell their homes. Their motto was "an intown, integrated, interesting community."
Your comments are welcome below. Did you, a family member or neighbor attend the art & book festival? Did you volunteer? Were you one of the vendors? Did you buy art work? Do you have photographs? You may comment privately here.
Photo source: Courtesy DC Public Library Special Collections, Neighbors Inc. Collection.
Marvin Caplan, Farther Along: A Civil Rights Memoir, 1999.
Phyllis Palmer, Living As Equals: How Three White Communities Struggled to Make Interracial Connections During the Civil Rights Era, 2008.
