|
|
National
African American Roller Skating Archives Project (NAARSAP)
At the Moorland-Spingarn
Research Center (MSRC), Howard University
What
Our Family Skate Association (OFSA)
has established a repository at the
Howard University Moorland-Spingarn
Research Center (MSRC), dedicated to roller skating in the
African-American community. The repository will be a resource
for study and development. Items such as photos, fliers, programs,
party announcements, posters, tickets, organizational records,
news articles, video
and audio format items, personal interviews, skate attire,
certificates, awards, ribbons, etc. pertaining to roller skating
in the African American community are appropriate for the collection.
Why
The collection will document and preserve for future generations
the unique social, cultural, and recreational part roller skating
played in the African American community. OFSA’s
objective is for the NAARSAP to become an impressive collection
of materials covering the history and tradition of roller skating
in the African American community across the country from the
early 1900’s to the present. The archive will be catalogued
by regions and further subdivided by cities, then organizations
(clubs, vendors, etc.), individuals, and venues (roller rinks,
parks, etc.).
Who
Each and every one of us…by donating personal items, will
create a collection that will capture the full story. The NAARSAP
will include audio interviews of skater’s personal experiences,
for instructions to include your story, see “Everybody’s
got a roller skate story…what’s yours?™”.
When
Now… submitting your donation right away will help to establish
a strong foundation for the collection. As the NAARSAP is seeking
to capture the past, present, and the future of roller skating,
the collection of items will be on-going. OFSA
is asking that active skaters, clubs, organizations, etc. keep
the archives updated by making annual submissions..
How
Two ways to make a submission to the archives:
- In
person at a skating event where OFSA
is accepting donations.
- Mail
your donations to NAARSAP c/o OFSA,
P.O. Box 41236, Washington, DC 20018. Include a completed donation
list form with all submissions.
To download Adobe Acrobat for
free,
please click on the
image above.
Video
Documentary…
OFSA
began background research and scholar interviews for it’s
video documentary on the history of roller skating in the African
American community in the fall of 2000. With over 25 hours of
footage logged in OFSA is working
on finalizing the script and production schedule. The finished
project will aid OFSA in it’s
mission to persevere and promote this unique aspect of cultural
history.
The
documentary will highlight the African American community of Washington,
DC’s roller skating experience. Against this backdrop the
piece will introduce a unique aspect of American history and culture.
Through the interviews of scholars, skaters and community people
the documentary will define “Style” roller skating
and clarify it’s beginnings. It will also query the fate
of roller skating within the African American community in DC
and across the country.
|
|
 |
