Alice Bell Finlayson papers
Object Details
- Scope and Contents note
- This collection documents the life of Alice Bell Finlayson between 1922 and 1990. It contains materials related to Mrs. Finlayson's employment and community service. Included in the collection are academic writings, books, correspondence, curriculum, personnel records, photographs, and printed materials.
- Biographical/Historical note
- Alice Bell Finlayson was born in Washington, DC in 1902. She attended Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, and in 1922, she graduated from Miner Teachers College. She went on to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree in sociology from Howard University. While pursuing her degrees she began working for the District of Columbia Public Schools. In 1922 she took a position as a 1st grade teacher at the Garrison-Cleveland School. For fourteen of her thirty-seven years with the District of Columbia Public Schools she served as principal of James G. Birney Elementary School. During her tenure at Birney she implemented several special programs designed to improve student outcomes. These programs addressed the needs of general education, gifted, and special education students. Students participated in reading and arts programs, as well as programs designed to promote healthy living and cultural awareness. Special education students developed life skills by working in building maintenance, and by providing other support services to the school. Mrs. Finlayson also established a research division within the school to develop testing instruments. As a result of these innovations, Birney became a training school for new teachers. Moreover, the District's Board of Education implemented some of the Birney programs district-wide. The school also won three Freedoms Foundation awards. Mrs. Finlayson resigned as principal in January of 1959 and went on to hold other employment. She was a lecturer at Morgan State University, a program assistant at Howard University, and coordinator for several community programs. Beyond her regular employment she worked with various local and national civic organizations. She was a founding member of the Community Coordinating Organization, which was a coalition of District of Columbia community organizations. As chairman of the Women's Civic Guild she raised funds for community projects and for other organizations such as the NAACP. She was an active member of the community up until her death on November 27, 2000.
- Date
- 1901-1992
- bulk 1938-1972
- Extent
- 5.16 Linear feet (7 boxes)
- Rights
- The Alice Bell Finlayson papers are the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
- Citation
- Alice Bell Finlayson papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Clippings
- Scrapbooks
- Books
- Photographic prints
- Periodicals
- Photographs
- Papers
- Sketches
- Topic
- African American educators
- Community organization
- African American neighborhoods
- Place
- Washington (D.C.)
- Identifier
- ACMA.06-003
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
EAD Collection Results
- Coursework and notes
- Printed materials
- DCPS
- Correspondence
- The Code of the District of Columbia (To March 4, 1929), Committee on Revision of the Laws of the House of Representatives
- A Walk Through 'Old' Anacostia. Anacostia Neighborhood Museum
- Political
- Patterns of Negro Segregation, Charles S. Johnson
- Major Directions for Progress in Services for People, Health and Welfare Council of the National Capital Area
- Washington Afro, Rendezvous With You
- Museum catalogues and curriculum
- Up From Slavery, Booker T. Washington
- Portraits/ School group "Karlsruhe American School Grade 6-1955-56"
- BES--General
- "The Impact of Urban Civilization Upon Negro Family Life," E. Franklin Frazier
- Anacostia Neighborhood Museum
- Correspondence
- Biographical
- Intercultural Education Through Language Arts, The Pittsburgh Board of Public Education, Department of Curriculum Study and Research
- Booker T. Washington: The Master Mind of a Child of Slavery, Frederick E. Drinker
- Oversize
- Statistics of the Education of Negroes: 1929, prepared by David T. Blose and Ambrose Caliver
- Correspondence
- Portrait/Female "To Alice from Pearle"