Humanities Truck Community Archive

Photographer Nancy Shia has documented the Drum Circle in Malcolm X Park for over fifty years.  The park became an epicenter for the African American cultural renaissance in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as an import site in the formation of Black Liberation. From African Liberation Day in May 1974 through DC’s initial Black Lives Matter protest in August 2014, Shia's photographs emphasize the connections between African drumming, dancing, fashion, community building, and political activism.  

The photography exhibit was originally showcased at the Humanities Truck event in Malcolm X Park in July of 2024 as part of a larger effort, in collaboration with the National Park Service, to preserve and interpret the social and cultural significance of the African Drum circle, which has been ongoing since shortly after the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965. The original digital exhibit titled "Liberation Drumming: Malcolm X Park from 1974-2014" can be viewed on the Humanities Truck website via the link below.