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to this institution. Programming for minority audiences and affirmative action hiring are two critical elements in the development of an ongoing, comprehensive plan which will insure that the Smithsonian is fulfilling its mission as an institution dedicated to serving all members of our society. Steps with regard to hiring have already been put forward in detail. We need to give similarly specific attention to programming.

The purpose of increasing our Afro-American programming is to bring more diverse visitation, more visible representation and more participation in decision-making to the Black members of our national community. Needless to say, such programming has been and should continue to be discipline-based and interpreted within the context of the mission of the individual bureaus. Hence there cannot be any uniform response to this appeal. But we do need to have serious, timely and substantive responses [to the following questions] from each bureau....

- To the extent that your bureau is collections-based, what are the current collection holdings that relate directly to the Afro-American community?

- What plans do you have for Afro-American collection acquisitions within the current fiscal year? The year following?

- What public programs (courses, performances, workshops, symposia, publications, etc., in addition to exhibitions) have you produced that considered topics of special interest to the Afro-American community over the past two years?

- What public program plans do you have for the next two years that relate directly to the Afro-American community?

Each of the bureaus and offices below responded in essentially the manner as summarized here. The Smithsonian's three primary research units, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Laboratory, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Laboratory, chose not to reply substantively. While space does not permit the presentation of the full responses as received, copies of all responses, including an unsolicited one from the Smithsonian Libraries, are available to the Regents upon request.

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Anacostia Museum

First as a neighborhood museum and now as a museum devoted to Afro-American history and culture, the Anacostia Museum has concentrated on