801 K Street NW Washington, D.C. 20001 www.DCHistory.org SPECIAL COLLECTIONS FINDING AID Title: MS 0766 Loretta Carter Hanes collection, 1749-2005 Processor: Marianne Gill Processed Date: 2014; additional series, objects, and textiles remain in the processing queue as of 2017 [Finding Aid last updated March 2017] Loretta Carter Hanes (1926-2016), a native Washingtonian, was a member of the Carter and Quander families. She was a descendent of enslaved people who lived and worked at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, and she was a dedicated volunteer to the school children of Washington, D.C. She is perhaps best recognized for her contributions to the Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program and the establishment of Emancipation Day as a municipal holiday in Washington, D.C. Born in 1926 in Washington, D.C., Loretta often accompanied her mother to her part time job as a cook at Stoddard Baptist Home. There she listened to the residents’ stories, including advice from a 102-year-old former slave who always talked about the need of everyone to help others by “bringing others across the bridge.” After graduating from Armstrong High School and Miner Teacher’s College, Loretta and her husband Wesley opened their home to tutor the neighborhood youth. Eventually a club was formed with 30 members who were taken on field trips to parks in the city for ball games. Reading is Fundamental, a program established November 1, 1966 at the urging of Mrs. Margaret McNamara, is a national program to provide school children with their own books. With offices in the Smithsonian Institution, and the financial support of foundation grants and industry contributions, RIF, by 1986, had 3100 projects in all 50 states and three territories. Loretta, as a member of the Urban Service Corporation, was a reading tutor in the D.C. schools and came to the attention of Mrs. McNamara in 1974. She invited Loretta to join the D.C. RIF Board of Directors, which had been incorporated July 1, 1973 and operated as a pilot project independent of the National Reading is Fundamental Program. Sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute at L’Enfant Plaza, and the National Park Service, the RIF staff of three distributed books to D.C. neighborhood children thru a “Summer in the Parks” program. Loretta moved the Reading is Fundamental office from the Smithsonian location to the Takoma Community School in 1976. Following the loss of funding from the National RIF in 1 1977, the local program became a grass-roots organization, with Loretta as the volunteer director. This involved contacting book publishers, maintaining inventories, training volunteers, raising funds and distributing free books to the children of D.C. Mr. Jesse Zeeman helped as book keeper and financial advisor. He obtained grants and funding from many foundations including the United Black Fund and D.C. Public Schools. By 1994 there were several more office moves before finally in 2000 Loretta’s residence became the office and storage facility. With her leadership the Reading is Fundamental program was available for nearly 70,000 D.C. school children at more than 200 sites. In addition to her work with Reading is Fundamental, Hanes spent considerable amounts of time conducting genealogical research, including searching public documents, family histories and cemetery records. In the course of her research she discovered that a celebration was held on April 16, 1901 for the Emancipation of the Washington, D.C. slaves, who had had been freed by President Lincoln one year before the Emancipation Proclamation. Hanes sought to re-establish the celebration of freeing the Washington D.C. slaves by soliciting support from the government, local organizations, businesses, churches and schools. Beginning in 1991 she organized an Emancipation Day Celebration at All Souls Church, followed in 1992 by a program with The National Park Service on April 16th at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue. Planning for the 130th Anniversary of the Proclamation, Loretta convinced the National Archives to display the document from December 31, 1992 thru January 4, 1993. By 1996, the Archives displayed all 5 pages due to the overwhelming response of the public during the preceding three years. (By January 2014, only a facsimile was displayed at the Archives, preserving the original). Mayor Anthony Williams signed legislation on January 4, 2005 making the Emancipation Day for the slaves of Washington, D.C., an official public holiday in the District. Loretta Carter Hanes died on August 21, 2016 at the age of ninety. A service in her honor was held at All Souls Church, Unitarian, 16th & Harvard Streets, on December 3, 2016. Scope and Content: The Loretta Carter Hanes collection comprises Loretta Carter Hanes Personal and Family History, 1749-2004; District of Columbia Reading is Fundamental records; Emancipation Day records, relating both to the establishment and celebration of Emancipation Day; and Loretta’s extensive collection of publications on topics such as general Black History, D.C. churches, and D.C. public schools. Arrangement Note: The Reading is Fundamental records and Emancipation Day records were in many cases inseparable from the creator’s personal records. While initially envisioned as two separate collections (Loretta Carter Hanes papers, MS 549, and Reading is Fundamental records, MS 0766), in 2010 the two were integrated and processing continued as a single, multifaceted collection. Individual series may reflect all four major components of the collection. 2 Series I: Loretta Carter Hanes Personal and Family History, 1749-2004 Sub-series A: Personal History: contains resumes, correspondence with family members and friends, recognition and awards, ephemera, and school records Sub-series B: Family History: contains Carter and Quander family charts, printed histories, publications, and correspondence. Also Loretta’s research of Churches and cemeteries related to Carter and Quander families. Series II: Reading is Fundamental Organizational History, 1966-2004 Sub-Series A: RIF Business and Board of Directors: Correspondence with the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. and Smithsonian Institution, and founding members. Deeds and permits, along with By-laws, membership lists, and minutes and agenda’s of meetings. Sub-Series B: Reports and Program Descriptions: 1976-2004 contains program descriptions, reports and evaluations. Sub-Series C: Employment Records, 1974-2004: contains job descriptions and individual job applications and resumes (available thru the approval of the Librarian) Sub-Series D: Parent Organizations: contains newsletters and correspondence of National Reading is Fundamental, Northern Virginia Chapter, and Citizens for a Better Public Education. Series III: Financial Records, 1967-2004 Sub-Series A: Reports and Budgets, 1967-2004: contains Accountant reports, budgets, financial and tax statements, correspondence. Sub-Series B: Financial Aid Organizations, 1969-2003: includes correspondence and grant applications to and from foundations, and includes the United Black Fund from 1975-2003 Series IV: General Correspondence, 1960-2004 Sub-Series A: General Correspondence: includes correspondence to the school board, inter-office communications, memos to teachers. Sub-Series B: Correspondence with Government Officials and promoters of RIF, 1977- 1992: includes receptions held by Mrs. Barbara Bush, and letters of appreciation from Presidents Bush, Clinton, and Reagan. Also with the actress Pearl Bailey 3 Sub-Series C: Public Relations, 1966-2003: includes press releases, RIF Mayoral Proclamations Series V: Book Distribution, 1966-2004 Sub-Series A: School Distribution Sites, 1966-2004: contains list of schools and number of books ordered Sub-Series B: Budgets and Correspondence, 1967-2004: contains financial reports pertaining to the distribution of the books. Sub-Series C: Supplier Profiles, 1983-2000: List of approved book suppliers Series VI: Reading is Fundamental Publications, 1973-2004 Volunteer handbooks, annual reports, guides for parents and volunteers, newsletters, posters, pamphlets, bookmarks and cards Series VII: Reading is Fundamental Programs, 1969-2005 Sub-Series A: Emancipation of D.C. Slaves, 1991-2005: contains programs, congressional hearings and correspondence, ceremonies, photographs, and research materials Sub-Series B: Miscellaneous Programs, 1967-2004: consists of White House programs, proposals for programs, workshops, anniversary celebrations, national reading programs, volunteer forms and responses. Sub-Series C: Summer in the Parks, 1969-1978: with National Park Service, and RIF Bookmobile visiting various D.C. parks to distribute books and entertain neighborhood children. Sub-Series D: Programs in D.C. Schools, 1971 to 2000: consists of folders of over 100 participating schools, with programs held in school, individual “Thank you” notes to RIF by elementary, junior and senior high schools. Photographs are also found in the folders or noted in Oversize Containers. Series VIII: Photographs Sub-Series A: Family photographs, 1919-1995: Portraits, snapshots from family scrapbooks, award ceremonies. Sub-Series B: Reading is Fundamental, 1974-2000: programs, including a 1983 reception at the Vice-Presidents Home, ceremonies not filed with subject matter, many featuring Loretta Carter Hanes, and school children, gift portraits. Series IX: Newspaper Clippings, undated to 2000 4 Some are noted and stored in Oversize containers Series X: Ephemera Sub-Series A: Miscellaneous: includes Certificates