In Memory of a Founder of the Museum

We mourn the passing of one of our beloved museum founders, Dr. Patricia Barr-Harrison. Some memories of her can be found below.

A scholarship in memory of Dr. Pat Barr Harrison has been established by the Museum, and the first awardee received this award in June 2025. Read about the awardee here.

If you knew Pat and would like donate to the scholarship fund, you may do so here. Read her obituary here.

I met Pat in 1980 when she was finishing her requirements for the master’s degree in French at Howard University. Our paths crossed many times after that, beginning with conferences/meetings of the Greater Washington Association of Teachers of Foreign Languages (GWATFL), in which Pat was a loyal and supporting member and officer for many years. I also worked with Pat on projects over the years while she served as Foreign Language Supervisor for Prince George’s County Public Schools. I was also on the Board of the National Museum of Language along with Pat.

Dr. Pat Barr-Harrison was relentless and unyielding in her efforts to earn the doctorate degree in Foreign Language Education while working full-time. That was not an easy endeavor! She was a consummate educator who was always ready and willing to stay abreast of the trends in foreign language teaching, learning and program administration.

Pat was indeed a humanist par excellence. She personified the phrase “caring and sharing”. This applies to her professional colleagues, her family and friends.

Dr. James Davis, Howard University

I have been with the Museum since 2008. Pat was already a museum fixture then. She had a vision of what she thought the museum should be. She worked HARD to make that a reality. I think that she would tell you that her greatest achievements were in outreach (programs for children) and the Puerto Rican cruise ship initiative. Although she was never the Museum president, she did earn Emeritus status as a Trustee.She dedicated many years of her life to the museum and even more to language work. She believed in the power of language and was willing to dedicate her life to that end.

Gred Nedved, National Museum of Language

When I came to work in Washington DC in 1986, Pat Barr Harrison was the biggest name in the Foreign Language Education community. She was a national figure.

Dr. Charles Stansfield. Second Language Testing Foundation

The accomplishments that I am most familiar with are Pat’s work for the PGCPS Foreign Lang. Dept. and for the NML. Under Pat’s leadership, the PGCPS grew to the point that it was able to offer language instruction in some 8 different languages. At the NML, Pat used to describe the Admin. Asst. position as the “glue” that kept it together, but that was actually a better description for her work there. She oversaw the museum docents, scheduled field trip visits for area students, helped organize the annual fundraiser dinner, took the lead in developing a number of NML exhbits, and served as director for the NML’s language camps. One of her most recent and notable contributions was to head up the development of the Virtual Cruise to Puerto Rico exhibit.

Linda Thompson, National Museum of Language

Pat was the person who got me involved in the museum. Her enthusiasm was contagious and soon I was helping develop the first exhibit for our opening in 2008. Over the years, she found grant opportunities, wrote successful grant proposals, and organized our major exhibits.

Pat’s true talents as an educator shone when she organized our summer camps. She guided young people to explore languages and cultures with her joyful attitude and inclusive warmth that welcomed one and all to events at the museum and around the community.

Pat had the original creative vision for and guided the development of our Virtual Cruise to Puerto Rico – now a popular destination for teachers who enjoy its rich offerings of the people, food, music, history, natural beauty and culture of the island.

Pat’s most recent achievement was the creation of our Virtual Field Trips for students in local schools to explore our exhibits in depth. We will miss her and try our best to carry on with the same passion she showed in all she did.

Jill Robbins, National Museum of Language

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Fanni is Radnóti's wife
Located near the Tang capital city of Chang’an, site of the modern city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province, in central China.
Soldiers of that time commonly wore a white head cloth, similar to what is still worn by some peasants in China today.  The implication is that the conscripts were so young that they didn’t know how to wrap their head cloths, and needed help from elders.
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
The area of Guanxi, meaning “west of the passes”, refers to the area around the capital city of Chang’an.
This is an alternative name for a province in western China, now known as Qinghai, which literally means “blue sea”.  Kokonor Lake, located in Qinghai, is the largest saline lake in China.  
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
Oulart Hollow was the site of a famous victory of the Irish rebels over British troops, which took place on May 27, 1798. The rebels killed nearly all the British attackers in this battle. (Source: Maxwell, W. H. History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798. H. H. Bohn, London 1854, pp 92-93, at archive.org)
The phrase "United Men" is elaborated upon in the Notes section below.

Ghetto

An Italian word meaning “foundry.” It originally referred to a part of the city of Venice where the Jews of that city were forced to live; the area was called “the ghetto” because there was a foundry nearby. The term eventually came to refer to any part of a city in which a minority group is forced to live as a result of social, legal, or economic pressure. Because of the restrictions placed upon them, ghetto residents are often impoverished.

"You’re five nine, I am do-uble two"

A reference to the year 1959 and the year 2020.

"The Currency"

Meaning US dollars - this is drawing attention to the fact that Cuba is effectively dollarized.

"Sixty years with the dom-ino stuck"

This sentence is a reference to the Cold War notion that countries would turn Communist one after the other - like dominos. Cuba was the first domino, but it got stuck - no one else followed through into communism.

رحلنا

رحلنا, or "rahalna," means "we have left."

Habibi

Habibi means "my love."

Ra7eel

Ra7eel, or "raheel," means "departure."

3awda

3awda, or "awda," means "returning."

أهلاً

أهلاً, or "ahalan," means "welcome."

a5 ya baba

a5 ya baba, pronounced "akh ya baba," means "Oh my father."

golpe

Treece translates "golpe" as "beating", which is correct, however misses the secondary meaning of the word: "coup".

Carlos

The “Carlos” referred to in the poem is most likely Carlos Bolsonaro, a politician from Rio de Janeiro and the second son of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s current president. His and his father’s involvement in Marielle’s murder has been questioned and investigated.