By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO

As students in America reach high school, where they anxiously look forward to getting their driver’s license, enjoying their first encounter with “true love,” even dreaming about moving on to college and, for the first time, being on their own, there’s another obstacle they must face before receiving their diploma: conquering the works of William Shakespeare. 

Widely considered to be the preeminent dramatist and one of the most influential writers in the English language, Shakespeare, also known as “The Bard,” stands at the top of the Western canon of great literary figures.  

But for many students, particularly those of color or those who come from schools that lack adequate financial and academic resources, Shakespeare looms like an evil specter – a ghostly figure with words they struggle to understand and with characters and storylines that bear little resemblance to the world in which they live. 

However, the times, they are a-changin’. At least that’s the case in Washington, D.C., where the Folger Theatre, which is affiliated with Folger Shakespeare Library, is currently offering a jaw-dropping, fresh take on one of The Bard’s most beloved tragedies, “Romeo and Juliet.”     

Raymond O. Caldwell, born in Germany to a Black man and German woman, and an accomplished, award-winning director and producer, makes his directorial debut at the Folger. And while remaining true to the text, Caldwell dismantles any preconceived notions one might have about Shakespeare and his love story of two teens which, because of political tribalism and their families’ thirst for influence and power, ends tragically. 

As the curtain rises, the chorus, garbed in hooded black robes, takes center stage to speak the prologue, still delivered within the safe confines of the literary form familiar to Shakespeare and traditionally employed in 17^th century poems of love – the Petrarchan sonnet. But that’s where the similarities end. 

From then on, the director shocks our senses with a Romeo (Cole Taylor) and Juliet (Caro Reyes Rivera) that are both people of color; Juliet’s nurse who, like Juliet and her mother, speak both English and Spanish; and characters who indulge in the frequent, misguided use of both alcohol and cocaine. 

The rear of the stage is dominated by screens which project images and words – exemplifying the dominance of social media and other modern technological advances, like Iphones, on society – which constantly juxtaposes with the rhythmic cadence of Shakespeare’s classical iambic pentameter. For example, some of the playwright’s most enduring lines are delivered as the characters live chat, post messages on their social media accounts and text one another – sometimes, while riding the District’s Red Line train on their way to “Verona.”

Perhaps these changes to the play are so easily embraced by the audience because they represent our reality – the world in which we live, work and play. 

As for the actors, themselves, they further illustrate 21^st century American society with a cast of Black, White, Asian and Hispanic thespians, interracial marriages and bilingual speakers. Some major characters, like Tybalt and Mercutio, are recast as women, straying from Shakespeare’s original version of the roles. 

On his website, Caldwell describes himself as one who’s “drawn to the grandiose and the grotesque, the transcendent and the trashy. My aesthetic often pays homage to drag, club-kid, queer, Black, Filipinx and pop culture.”  

As for the staging of the play, Caldwell situates “Romeo and Juliet” in a fictitious world reminiscent of Washington, D.C., as he examines the violent consequences when systems like family, religion and government fail to protect and guide society’s youth. 

“As the young lovers navigate their world of chaos and conflict, our version of the play challenges audiences to grapple with how wealth, class, substance abuse, mass media consumption, politics and tribalism shape our capacity for love and exacerbate violence,” Caldwell said in a statement.  

Caldwell added that his reimagined “Romeo and Juliet” is part of a broader movement to make the arts more inclusive.

“Playwrights, designers, directors, universities and regional theaters are working together to redefine the theatre for the age we live in . . .,  making theatre accessible to communities that long have been disenfranchised and are giving voice to stories that have long woven the American tapestry but who have gone unheard,” he said. 

Karen Ann Daniels, the theater’s artistic director and director of programming for the Folger Shakespeare Library, said one of the reasons why “Romeo and Juliet” was chosen for the current season is because of its timeliness due to the election.

“Because we, as well as the Folger Shakespeare Library, are within close proximity to Congress, the Capital and the Library of Congress, that means we can have conversations about democracy in ways that others cannot,” she said. “We seek to pique one’s while never pressing visitors to our complex to choose sides.” 

Daniels also said the classic play “has the widest appeal.” 

“People seem to see themselves in the world of the play,” she added, although there is some disconnect. 

“Shakespeare continues to be studied in schools and his works are even embedded in American culture – from cartoons to movies,” Daniels said. “However, one of the reasons why many youths and adults alike don’t understand Shakespeare is because of the way he’s presented – he’s not always friendly to younger or ethnically diverse communities and audiences.”

Part of the ethos of the Folger Shakespeare Library – and the theater by association – is making the famed playwright more accessible to modern-day audiences. And recent renovations to the Library, along with reimagined productions like “Romeo and Juliet” will, hopefully, draw morw people through the doors and advance their mission, Daniels added.

“This play has it all – its cast is multicultural, the show is done bilingually and there are mixed relationships, all of which serve as a metaverse of the world. We’ve had several groups of high school students from the area come see the show and among their comments, I’ve heard them say that with the use of social media infused in the production, it’s like watching a movie. As they go on to college, or out into the workforce, we hope they’ll understand that this institution is for them,” she said. 

“This is the work we do: We present the plays of Shakespeare. But we do so because we want people to respond to him and his works while opening him up to people in ways that make them feel like they are not small but rather part of his world.”

For more information about “Romeo and Juliet” or to visit the newly renovated Folger Shakespeare Library, which anchors the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, visit www.folger.edu. “Romeo and Juliet” continues through Nov. 10 at the Folger Theatre. 

The post Folger Theatre revives Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with a broad stroke of diversity   appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

Ericka Alston Buck
Special to the AFRO

Family, friends, and the broader theater community are urgently pleading for the public’s help in the ongoing search for 28-year-old Broadway dancer Zelig Williams, who has been missing for two weeks. Williams, known for his performances in Broadway productions like “Hamilton” and “MJ: The Musical,” was last seen on Oct. 3 in Columbia, S.C.

Williams’ disappearance has sent shockwaves through the arts community. 

His mother, Kathy McLaughlin-Williams, shared an emotional plea during a press conference held by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. 

“I just want Zelig to come home,” she tearfully stated. “He’s all I’ve got.” 

After speaking briefly, she collapsed into the arms of a family member, overcome with emotion.

Williams’ car was found the day after his disappearance in an isolated parking lot near the Palmetto Trail, about 15 miles from downtown Columbia. Deputies have not ruled out any possible theories on the dancer’s disappearance, including foul play. 

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott emphasized that the department is using every resource available in the search. “We have used every means of manpower and technology that is available,” Lott said. “And we’re going to continue to search until we find him.”

Members of Williams’ family say that he stopped taking his prescribed medication, which they believe may leave him vulnerable or in a trance-like state. 

His cousin, Mieoki Corbett-Jones, explained that Williams is the light of his family, particularly for his mother, who lost her two daughters in a car accident in 2004. 

“Zelig danced for his sisters; that’s how he began,” she said. “He is dancing with his sisters in his heart.”

In a heartwarming tribute to Williams, fellow dancers at Southern Strutt Dance Studio, where Williams trained as a child, recently performed a dance in his honor. 

“After they were done performing, they said they felt hopeful and wanted to share the same love Zelig gave to them back to him,” said studio owner Nancy Giles.

Giles recalled Williams’ journey from a bright 12-year-old eager to learn to a Broadway star. 

“He had so much light about him,” she said. “He could make you laugh, make you cry and fill your heart all in one performance.”

Broadway star Hugh Jackman, who worked with Williams on “The Greatest Showman” tour, has also joined the efforts to locate him. Jackman shared a heartfelt message on social media, writing, “Zelig, we love you and are praying for your safe return.”

Private investigator Chandra Cleveland has been hired by the family to assist in the search, with a focus on tracing any recent interactions Williams may have had in local churches. Cleveland urged anyone with information to come forward, especially those in the religious community where Williams had been seeking a place to worship. The family’s press release highlighted that Williams was a “devoted believer in God” and had been exploring his faith before his disappearance.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, where callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward. As the search for Zelig Williams continues, his family and the community remain hopeful that he will return home safely.

The post Search for missing broadway Dancer Zelig Williams continues  appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com

Black artists are feeling uncertain about the future of  Baltimore’s art scene following the city’s decision to end its relationship with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA). The organization is responsible for organizing major festivals and initiatives such as Artscape, the country’s largest free arts festival. They also provide substantial support for the local arts scene. The Mayor’s Office sent a letter to the quasi-government agency on Oct. 16, initiating the 90-day termination clause in the city’s contract with the organization.

BOPA regularly deploys funding and resources for local creatives and arts and cultural organizations of every genre. It also hosts a variety of free events that enable Baltimoreans to engage and patronize the local arts community. The break-up with Baltimore has raised some concern.

“There are a lot of resources for artists in the city, but BOPA has been around for a long time, providing different needs around public arts grants and festivals,” said Mecca Verdell, a popular author, spoken word poet and actor. “There will definitely be an offset that a lot of artists will feel. We will have to adjust.”

Verdell also condemned public perceptions of BOPA CEO Rachel D. Graham, who only began leading the organization on March 15 after being selected in February. 

“I think there’s a narrative spreading that Ms. Graham is being dramatic or angry, which is horrible to label any Black woman,” said Verdell. 

The contract termination comes as BOPA continues to navigate a financial crisis. In the letter, Marvin James, chief of staff for Mayor Brandon M. Scott, explained that the organization’s financial instability casted doubt about its ability to meet obligations to the city and local arts community. 

“Ending the city’s contractual relationship with BOPA is not a decision taken lightly,” said Scott in a statement. “We are taking this step after deep and careful consideration following several years of turmoil within the organization.”

The end of the contract is subject to approval by the Baltimore City Board of Estimates (BOE). It seems that BOPA’s finances have been on the decline for the last few years. According to federal tax filings, the organization had more than $5.8 million in net assets in 2019. By 2022, after years of canceling events due to the public safety crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, that number declined to $1.5 million. 

BOPA is responsible for producing events, like the Baltimore Book Festival, fireworks and the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day parade. In 2023, its former CEO Donna Drew Sawyer stepped down after a public squabble with Scott over the cancellation of the MLK parade. Most recently, its premier event, Artscape, was largely rained out with headline performances canceled on two of three nights.

The organization called two special board meetings in September to discuss its financial standing and devise a path forward. Graham did not confirm or deny whether BOPA had requested a bailout from the city officials when asked by the AFRO about rumors that the organization requested funds from the City.

On Oct. 1 Graham said there was no contention between the Mayor’s Office and the organization. 

“There is no dispute,” Graham told the AFRO on Oct. 1. “We’re wholly focused on working with the mayor and the administration on developing a path forward that operates in the best interest of Baltimore artists.”

On the morning of Oct. 16, BOPA’s board voted to layoff employees to address its financial situation. 

The AFRO requested additional comments from Graham but was told BOPA is still in the process of preparing a statement. 

“We’re grateful that we’ve found a way to address our immediate cash position, and we look forward to bringing resolution to some of the outstanding invoices,” said Andrew Chaveas, interim chair of BOPA board, during the meeting.

BOPA board members also voted to create a transition taskforce to reassess the organization’s contractual relationship with the city. The taskforce, which will comprise BOPA board members, representatives from the Mayor’s Office and community arts advocates, will now be tasked with transferring the organization’s services to the city.  It will also help to revamp BOPA’s role and mission and the arts and culture ecosystem in the city. 

BOPA will still put on the New Year’s Eve fireworks display and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, as laid out in its contract. If the BOE approves the city’s decision, the organization’s contract will end on Jan. 20. 

In the letter, James acknowledged that the termination may cause concern among BOPA’s staff and the city’s arts community, but Scott reaffirmed his commitment to Baltimore creatives.

“Most importantly, it is critical for Baltimore’s arts community to know that this step is being taken to aid support for their critical work in our city,” said Scott in a statement. “We will work diligently to ensure that the events, property management, and, most importantly, direct support for artists and their work is not significantly interrupted. Supporting our artists is critically important, and Baltimore will always do what is right to ensure our artists get the support they need.”

Lanise Stevenson, adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins’ School of Education, said she has mixed feelings about the cancellation of the contract. She is a member of the university’s Inheritance Baltimore project, a joint program and research effort to protect Black archives and curate Black arts and heritage. 

“While change can open the door to new opportunities, there is a genuine concern about how this will impact the arts community in Baltimore, especially when accessing free and easily accessible cultural experiences,” said Stevenson. 

She believes BOPA has played a critical role in fostering a sense of belonging for people from different neighborhoods, backgrounds and experiences through its events. Without BOPA, Stevenson worries that there will be fewer opportunities for residents to experience the arts in public space, which she believes is crucial to cultivating strong community connections. 

Regardless of the contract termination, Stevenson called on the city to preserve and expand the services and support BOPA has provided to artists. She said they must continue the legacy of inclusive, free cultural programming. 

“This means continuing to support large-scale events, like Artscape, but also investing in smaller, community-based arts initiatives that are accessible to all neighborhoods in the city,” said Stevenson. “The future of the arts in Baltimore depends on leadership that understands the value of art in creating belonging, healing and economic empowerment.” 

The post Local arts community uncertain as Baltimore officials move to terminate BOPA contract appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Brittany Marshall

First Lady Dawn Moore and the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) today announced the appointment of Lady Brion as Maryland’s 11th Poet Laureate. The first lady was joined by Maryland State Arts Council Executive Director Steven Skerritt-Davis and local members of the arts community in a ceremony at The Clifton House in Baltimore. 

“Lady Brion uses her voice to speak up for those who have gone overlooked and been left behind for too long. She is an ambassador for those who need hope, an advocate for those who need a fighter — and she will be a champion for all Marylanders, no matter their background, zip code, or personal story,” said First Lady Moore. 

“As First Lady, I am committed to working within the Moore-Miller administration to ensure that the arts are not just celebrated but are elevated in this state.”

Based in Baltimore City, Lady Brion is a spoken word artist, writer, cultural worker, and activist whose efforts focus on women’s empowerment and telling the story of the Black experience. The author of several written and recorded publications, Lady Brion is a mainstay in state, national and international spoken word scenes. In 2023, she performed before the inauguration ceremony of Governor Wes Moore and during the inauguration ceremony for Comptroller Brooke Lierman.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to accept the appointment as Poet Laureate of Maryland, a role that allows me to pay homage to the extraordinary poet Lucille Clifton. It is my mission to build upon her legacy, using the power of words to spark dialogue while fostering greater creativity, empathy and understanding across the state of Maryland,” said Lady Brion. “Special thanks to Governor and First Lady Moore, as well as the Maryland State Arts Council, for selecting me.”

Appointed by Governor Wes Moore, Lady Brion will serve as Poet Laureate providing public readings and programs for the citizens of Maryland. The honorary state position was established by the Maryland General Assembly in 1959. 

“Lady Brion exemplifies what it means to be Poet Laureate,” said Maryland State Arts Council Executive Director Skerritt-Davis. “Her talent, dedication to her craft and innate ability to engage people make her a natural fit for this prestigious role.”

For history of the Maryland Poet Laureate program and more details on Lady Brion’s role and booking information as Poet Laureate, visit msac.org/programs/poet-laureate.

The post First Lady Moore announces Lady Brion as Maryland’s 11th Poet Laureate appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

Art, Culinary, Fashion, Philanthropy – Enter the HALL at LIVE! Maryland Casino &Hotel – Taking a Bite and Elevating the Culture of Charm City.

BALTIMORE (September 6, 2024) – “Adam & Eve: Enter the Garden,” the
2024 theme of the 3rd Annual Baltimore MET Gala (BMG), a multi-sensory,
sophisticated production designed to celebrate all the best parts of Charm City.

Introduced in 2022 and recognized by the Baltimore Times as the Best Live
Performance event in 2023, the BMG features a collection of experiences (Art, Culinary, Fashion, and Philanthropy), wrapped in artistic expression and impact, working inconcert to deliver a best-in-class evening of entertainment at The HALL – LIVE! Casino & Hotel Maryland (Saturday, September 14).

Executive producers and culture creators, LaRian Finney and Derrick Chase, have
been the driving force behind the BMG since the inaugural brand activation at theBaltimore Museum of Art (BMA), building and elevating local businesses and
entrepreneurs through this dynamic production that embraces the city’s commitment toart and culture.

“The Finn Group has led major activations around the country, with Baltimore being our home base since 2000,” says Finney. “Our focus is to provide strategy and solutions to further develop businesses that have a mission for inclusion and economic impact, by being culturally sensitive, relevant, and tying directly to the vitality of the community.”

The impact of the BMG spans beyond Charm City, with featured experiences drawing the attention of creatives from across industries to the region. In July, the model auditions welcomed over 500 hopefuls, including some from San Diego, St. Louis, New York, DC, and even Ohio, to walk for the eleven BMG designers, including Fashion Commission leads Jody Davis and Earle Bannister, who selected the final cut, 150 models, for the Fashion Experience, produced by Lana Rae.

“We know the rich pool of talent is here in the city, and that’s through all genres, particularly the arts, fashion and culinary scenes,” said Chase. “Drawing talent to the city to be part of the Baltimore Story, through this unique production, is a testament to the value we’ve created in the three short years of executing at a high-level of excellence.”

Not to be outdone by Fashion – the Art Experience, “Statement 2024”, curated by Ernest Shaw, Ainsley Burrows, and Laurielle Noel, confirmed 20 diverse artists from a record 90 applicants vying for a coveted spot in the exclusive BMG avant-garde\Art Exhibition. “This exhibition showcases compelling artworks that challenge, provoke, and captivate – featuring a curated selection of pieces based on the event’s theme – Adam & Eve: Enter the Garden.” – BMG Art Experience Curators.

The theme, through the eyes of designer, Shajuan Finney, is the key component of theguest experience at the BMG. “From the moment you step onto the Green Carpet, guests will be met with scents of florals, beauty of visual stories, and feelings of nature – transforming the space into an epic garden of entertainment for creatives and fashionistas,” described Shajuan.

The Culinary Experience, curated by Black Owned Restaurant Tour (BORT) creator, Azikiwe “Zik” DeVeaux, spotlights the Art in the cuisine of the nine restaurants and concepts selected to develop luxurious sweet and savory bites for guests to indulge, and enjoy ‘A Taste of the MET.’

Embedded in the Experiences of the BMG, is the power of community and impact, exemplified by the Community Impact and ICON Award recipients, will be recognized throughout the evening, for their intentional efforts to empower and strengthen Baltimore’s image and mission to be the best city in America. 2024 awardees include:

COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARDS

● P. David Bramble, Managing Partner/Co-Founder | MCB Real Estate

● Edward “Ed” Evans, Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion | Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland

● Linzy Jackson, III, Director of External Partnerships | Office of the Mayor

● Susan J. Lee, Vice President of Diversity Partnerships | MOI

● Detra Neal, Sales Manager, Market, Mid-Atlantic | Kimball International

● Nykidra “Nyki” Robinson, Founder and CEO | Black Girls Vote

● Shelonda Stokes, President | Downtown Partnership of Baltimore

ICON AWARDS

● Jerry Prettyman, Prettyman Gallery Global | Artist ICON Award

● Dr. Lance London, Chairman and CEO, Carolina Kitchen Bar & Grill, and
     NéVetica | Culinary ICON Award

● Toni James, Katwalk Boutique Corporation | Fashion ICON Award

● Travis Winkey, Travis Winkey Studios | Fashion ICON Award

A portion of the proceeds from the 2024 Baltimore MET Gala will benefit Black Girls Vote (BGV), a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring Black Girls to use the political process to improve the quality of life for their families and the collective community.

For more information, including partners and sponsors, visit baltimoremetgala.com. Follow on social media, @baltimoremedgala, to join the conversation about the BMG Experience.

Use #BaltimoreMETGala and #BaltimoreMETGala2024.

The post Baltimore MET Gala returns to celebrate Charm City’s best appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Sean Yoes
Special to the AFRO

Experts believe more than a million African artifacts are being held outside of the African continent, scattered mostly throughout Europe and North America in museums and private collections. Many were looted over centuries of colonization. 

These stolen treasures represent a huge swath of Africa’s cultural heritage, and for decades, African nations have been demanding their return.

Recently, The Black Child Journal in collaboration with the Youth Resiliency Institute published, “Restitution: African Cultural Heritage and the Black Child.” This special edition of the publication sheds light on the topic of restitution of African cultural heritage and its profound impact on Black children. 

“This special edition…is a virtual ‘how to,’ with respect to a history of restitution initiatives–practical, theoretical and policy-making approaches to such initiatives,” said Michael C. Edwards, editor of The Black Child Journal. 

“The fruits of a long cultural and artistic heritage are vividly displayed in this edition of the Journal,” Edwards added. 

The Black Child Journal, founded in 1979 by Useni Eugene Perkins in collaboration with the National Rites of Passage Institute, advocates on behalf of Black children and their families. 

This special edition of the Journal, focused on the restitution of African cultural heritage, was guest edited by Fanon Hill, co-founder of the Youth Resiliency Institute (YRI). 

“The special edition…provides a roadmap for Black children, young people and families living through intersecting forms of oppressions to connect with local, national and international emancipatory Black art networks,” said Hill, “while learning about the centrality of restitution of African cultural heritage as a critical intervention inextricably tied to the cultural, mental and spiritual well-being of Black children and youth.” 

The YRI, which operates in the Cherry Hill community of South Baltimore and in East Cleveland, Ohio, focuses on underserved communities, utilizing a comprehensive approach that embraces African-centered rites of passage and cultural arts to fuel activism, community renewal, and grassroots public policy development.

“The future success of the movement for restitution of African cultural heritage hinges on our ability to cultivate the energy and potential of Black children and youth, not only in continental Africa, but wherever descendants of enslaved Africans live today,” Hill said.

Such a success in the ongoing struggle to restore African artifacts and cultural heritage took place in June, when 39 artifacts were formally returned to the nation of Uganda by the University of Cambridge. Technically, these artifacts will be returned via a three-year loan between museums of Britain and Uganda, and the agreement could lead to them remaining in Uganda permanently. According to Martin Mugarra, minister of tourism for Uganda, the process of returning the cultural objects to the East African nation began in 2016.

“Processes to repatriate the artifacts began in 2016, under the `Rethinking Uganda Museum’ project, which was conducted in collaboration with the University of Michigan,” said Mugarra in a social media post on X.  

“These invaluable pieces were taken from Uganda during the 1890’s and early 1900’s by British colonial administrators, anthropologists, missionaries and soldiers,” Mugarra added. “This is not unique to Uganda. Many other African countries including Nigeria, Namibia, Ghana and Kenya are also getting these returns.”

The efforts of African nations to retrieve their invaluable stolen treasures underscores their vital contribution to the identity and cultural heritage of those nations, as well as the importance of educating young people about the value of these artifacts. To that end, the Youth Resiliency Institute engages children, youth and families in the restitution of African cultural heritage through the Mountain Movers Project. The Mountain Movers Project is a community arts initiative that functions as a hub and resource center that provides information, programming and facilitates intentional conversations on the relationship between restitution and the function of resistance, remembrance and cultural resilience in Black communities.

“Through cross-generational African-centered programming, the Mountain Movers Project introduces participants to vocabularies, tactics, strategies, and frameworks prerequisite for analysis of the legacy of colonial violence in setting perimeters for the ways that racism and imbalances of power are perpetuated by museums and cultural institutions today,” said Hill.

In 2023 and earlier in 2024, Mountain Movers Project youth participants traveled to West Africa to learn about how African artists are rejecting the western model of museums. 

Three Mountain Movers youth participants from Cherry Hill were acknowledged by Dr. Atiba Coppock, co-editor of the Black Child Journal, for their contributions to the special restitution of the African heritage edition of the publication. The public affirmation of those three young people by Dr. Coppock came during an ideal time for the Cherry Hill residents, during the eighth annual Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Festival in July.

“It is crucial that Black children and youths are not merely participants, but rather leaders and innovators in this transformative journey,” Hill said.

“Restitution–African Cultural Heritage and the Black Child,” is available at: blackchildjournal.com. 

The post Advocates: Restoring African cultural heritage crucial for Black children appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Fedrick C. Ingram
Word In Black

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t interested in being a leader.

Leaders listen to the people, even those they don’t agree with, in order to foster democracy and empathy for the communities they’ve been elected to serve. 

That is what leaders do.

Last year, at the start of Black History Month, DeSantis blocked the country’s first AP Black Studies course for being “too woke.” This year, just in time for Black Music Month in June, DeSantis vetoed $32 million in cultural and museum grants from his state budget. He clearly wasn’t listening to the voices of his constituents, none of whom asked for such an unprecedented attack on art and culture. A principled leader wouldn’t even imagine eliminating the entire arts budget for the third largest state in the country, depriving countless communities of a vital human endeavor.

That is what autocrats do. 

While slashing the entire arts budget for the state is not a legal crime, it is a moral crime. Art is one of the most important things humans create and an outlet for the frustrated and the forgotten. It can also free the soul from place and time so we can experience the sublime.

That is what art and an arts education did for me. 

As I have written before, music changed the entire trajectory of my life. From a kid born in the Miami projects with a bad stutter to an accomplished leader in education, I needed art to better understand my own potential. 

Learning to sing and then play an instrument before graduating boosted my self-esteem, taught me discipline and stoked my desire to master something on my own steam.

I found new heroes through arts education, too. Names like Branford Marsalis, Prince and Gerald Albright were just as big to me as Michael Jordan or Eddie Murphy. They not only showed me beauty but revealed my connection to my people’s legacy. Of course, I already knew names like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass or A. Philip Randolph, but to understand the soundtrack of Black America as it strove from slavery to freedom was a new frontier. Understanding the music I was playing connected me to the triumphs of my people, made me puff out my chest a bit more and stand a bit straighter.

Studying the arts can also have tangible academic benefits as well. We know it can have a marked increase on standardized reading scores and reduce the need for teacher discipline — a big deal for Black students who are disproportionately punished for behavior in school. Students engaging with arts education had a nearly 4 percent reduction in discipline, a 13 percent increase in standardized writing scores, and an 8 percent increase in compassion for others.

The good news is that most public school children have access to arts education—whether that’s painting, music, writing or many other forms. According to a 2019 report from the Arts Education Data Project, 96% of K-12 students have access to arts education, with 65% participating. 

However, that access is not guaranteed for all children, especially in Florida where public schools are being hollowed out by school vouchers at an increasing rate. So what does this mean for low-income and Black children who, according to a 2020 Knight Foundation study, “report lower levels of access to arts and cultural activities than higher-income or White residents.”

Without the arts, there are voices that will go unheard, and their attachment to the community will be diminished.

It’s hard for me to think that was not the goal.

The beauty of art, aside from the aesthetics, is that it not only comments on the status quo, but challenges it. Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, and Public Enemy have turned art into social commentary. That commentary spawns action and activism. To undermine that endeavor feels like a calculated move from a governor who has regularly shown his disdain for dissenting voices.

This is the same governor banning books by authors whose stories and identities veer too close to some ugly truths instead of the jingoistic fantasy he has in his head. His rejection of AP Black Studies was partly due to his inability to reconcile how queer experiences related to the Black experience — has he never heard of playwright Lorraine Hansberry, author James Baldwin or dancer Alvin Ailey? 

I suspect he does know who these people are — but they all made art that challenges his worldview that America is a land with no rough edges, no deep-seated conflicts that have left scars on multiple generations. He and his extremist pals prefer an America that has only done the right thing. In this way, there is no trouble — only troublemakers; anyone who dares to remind us that we still have a long road to true equality must be silenced.

To paraphrase the great John Lewis, we must remain troublemakers. Whether we do that by casting a ballot or writing a song, we must insist on searching for an imagined tomorrow to make today a better place. We must stay connected to the ones before us who inspired us through music, books, plays and movies. Let’s dance, paint, sculpt, and write our brave new future into the soil of this country so we will never forget our past or give up on our glorious future.

This article was originally published by Word In Black.

The post The fate of art and soul in Florida appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – The Apollo Theater, Harlem’s legendary cultural institution, has made history by earning a rare Kennedy Center Honors, one of the highest accolades in the arts. For 90 years, the Apollo has been the heart of American culture, nurturing emerging artists, launching legends, and serving as a center of innovation for Harlem, New York City, and the world. As the largest performing arts institution dedicated to Black culture and creativity, the Apollo has significantly influenced popular culture globally.

The Kennedy Center’s recognition marks the first time a venue, rather than an individual performer, has received this prestigious award.

“We are thrilled to be the first organization honored in the history of the Kennedy Center Awards, emphasizing The Apollo’s impact on the past, present, and future of American culture and the performing arts,” stated Michelle Ebanks, president and CEO of The Apollo.

The 47th Kennedy Center Honors will also celebrate the lifetime achievements of director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval; and the surviving members of the countercultural rock band the Grateful Dead.

“I am profoundly humbled and deeply honored to be selected as a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors,” Sandoval said. “This recognition is an extraordinary milestone in my career.”

Raitt said she’s “deeply honored and thrilled to have been chosen to receive one of this year’s Center Honors. There is no higher level of esteem nor as delightful a celebration.”

Frances Ford Coppola reflected on his career and the honor, stating, “There’s no greater honor than to be included along with those who inspired me, who I looked up to, and who gave me encouragement when times were dim.”

The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity, and exploration in music and presentation, stated the band’s Bob Weir. “We’ve always felt that the music we make embodies and imparts something beyond the notes and phrases being played—and that is something we are privileged to share with all who are drawn to what we do—so it also must be said that our music belongs as much to our fans, the Dead Heads, as it does to us,” he continued. “This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours.”

The Kennedy Center Honors, which raises funds for the Kennedy Center in Northwest Washington, D.C., will be held on Dec. 8 and aired on CBS on Dec. 23.

Meanwhile, for 90 years, the Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across various art forms and ushering in the emergence of musical genres, including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul and hip hop. The countless legendary artists who launched their careers at The Apollo’s “Amateur Night,” the original, large-scale talent show and one of the longest-running continuous events in New York City, include Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly and Miri Ben Ari. 

The Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. During its 90th anniversary season, the organization opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, marking the institution’s first-ever major expansion and renovation. It also began plans to restore and renovate its historic theater. Officials said this will allow The Apollo to increase performances and educational and community programs and expand its support for artists and other cultural organizations.

“From the longest-running talent show in America with, Amateur Night at The Apollo, which launched the careers of icons like Ella Fitzgerald and Lauryn Hill, to performances from beloved legends like Smokey Robinson and Lil’ Kim and today’s biggest stars like Drake, The Apollo has always been a home for artists to create and a home for audiences to see incredible music and art from legendary artists,” Ebanks said.

The post Apollo Theater makes history with Kennedy Center honor appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams features nearly 140 works from the 1970s to the present—including sculpture, jewelry, textiles, artwear garments, performance compilations, prints, mixed-media installations, and a new large-scale commission. The astonishing virtuosity and ingenuity of Scott’s work in every medium seamlessly coalesces with her lifelong vision to confront racism, sexism, classism, and “all the ‘isms’ society offers” through impish and audacious humor, expressions of beauty, and a humanistic engagement with global events. Her innate ability to move across medium and genre, leveraging her materials to speak fearlessly to subjects of deep personal and communal meaning make her one of the most significant artists of our time and deserving of greater scholarly study and public recognition.

“Joyce J. Scott is a living legend and a pillar of Baltimore’s artistic community. Her multidisciplinary practice is in a word, magnetic, distinguished in its ability to conjure moments of beauty and awe, while also bringing people into conversation about challenging subjects in a way that is open and embracing. Her work is deeply rooted in both local and global contexts, vibrating with a resonance that is utterly and uniquely Joyce,” said Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “The BMA has had the honor of engaging audiences with Scott’s work for many years through exhibitions, public programs, and acquisitions. We are thrilled now to present this comprehensive exhibition that highlights the remarkable range of her career.”

Scott has embraced her identity as an artist and performer since childhood. At home in Baltimore, her mother, the artist Elizabeth Talford Scott (1916–2011) taught her to sew and express herself creatively. Scott considers this knowledge her inheritance: both the specific techniques and aesthetic traditions carried by enslaved people from Africa to the Americas and the awareness of her own life’s potential as part of a continuum.

In the 1970s, Scott began what would become a lifelong commitment to artistic learning and engagement with global cultures. Her extensive travels have taken her to many countries, including Mexico, Cuba, Peru, Mali, Senegal, Scotland, South Africa, Thailand, and Italy, where she connected with local artisans and community members through a shared embrace of textiles, beads, and glass. As a result, Scott’s work has responded to global events—from the AIDS crisis to South African Apartheid and to American police brutality—and served to memorialize personal and collective transformations and traumas.

Tickets $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $12 for groups of 7 or more, $5 for students with ID, and $5 for youth ages 7-18. BMA Members, children ages 6 and under, and student groups are admitted free.

The post Final Weeks for 50-Year Retrospective of Boundary-Breaking Artist Joyce J. Scott at BMA Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams closes on July 14 appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Ericka Alston Buck 
Special to the AFRO

As Baltimore’s renowned Artscape festival marks its monumental 40th anniversary, the city’s fashion community gears up to showcase its finest creations at Project Artscape. This exciting event, led by a team of dedicated individuals, including Devin Shacklett and Caprice Ann Jackson, promises to be an immersive celebration of style, innovation and creativity.

Artscape, often hailed as America’s largest free arts festival, has been a cornerstone of Baltimore’s cultural scene since its inception in 1982. Over the past four decades, it has evolved into a vibrant showcase of visual arts, performing arts, and culinary arts, attracting millions of visitors and fostering a sense of community spirit.

Devin Shacklett, the program coordinator of Project Artscape, shared insights into the inspiration behind this unique fashion weekend. 

“Project Artscape was born out of a desire to provide a platform for Baltimore’s fashion community, which has historically been underrepresented. As Artscape celebrates its 40th year, they saw an opportunity to spotlight the city’s rich fashion heritage and elevate local designers,” he said.

Caprice Ann Jackson, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts’ newly appointed fashion coordinator who is serving as the host of Project Artscape, emphasized the event’s significance in supporting emerging designers. 

“Fashion is an integral part of Baltimore’s artistic tapestry,” she said, “and Project Artscape aims to showcase the diverse talent within the community. From established designers to up-and-coming creatives, this event celebrates the artistry and innovation of Baltimore’s fashion scene.”

One of the highlights of Project Artscape Fashion Weekend is the collaboration with the Baltimore Jazz Alliance, bringing live music to the runway shows. This fusion of fashion and music pays homage to the city’s rich cultural heritage and adds an extra layer of excitement to the event.

Attendees can expect a diverse range of programming, including runway shows featuring the collections of 12 Baltimore-based designers, a curated fashion market highlighting sustainable fashion and upcycling initiatives, and engaging panel discussions with industry professionals.

Among the featured designers are:

– Earle Bannister, E. Bannister Couture

– Nicole Moan, Moan Inc

– Van Mac-Henry, Van Man

– Dr. Marilyn Walker, Afrocentric by Marie Francis Designs

– Abisola Oladeinde, Yelé

– Eryn Boggs, iconiclicense

– Brandi Lewis, Syeko Design House

– Sehar Peerzada, Urban Masala

– Natalie Karyl, Ragdolls Couture

– Kenn Hall, OMRY International

– Evette Monique, Evette Monique Couture

– Iliana Quander, Amparo3

Brandi Lewis, one of the featured designers, expressed her excitement about being part of the event. 

“Syeko Design House is more than just a brand; it’s a movement to bring light to the world through art and fashion,” she said. “She’s thrilled to showcase her work alongside other talented designers and celebrate Baltimore’s creative spirit.”

In addition to the fashion festivities, attendees will have the opportunity to explore the broader Artscape festival, with its myriad of art installations, performances and culinary delights. From the bustling streets of Station North to the picturesque Mount Royal Avenue, Artscape transforms Baltimore into a vibrant cultural hub.

Project Artscape Fashion Weekend will take place at The Garage, located at 6 Lafayette Ave., with doors opening at 5 p.m. on Friday and extended programming throughout Saturday and Sunday. As Baltimore prepares to celebrate 40 years of Artscape, this fashion extravaganza promises to captivate audiences with its creativity, innovation, and community spirit. Don’t miss your chance to experience the magic of Project Artscape Fashion Weekend and join in the celebration of Baltimore’s rich cultural heritage.

After Project Artscape Fashion Weekend, BOPA will continue to support Baltimore Fashion Week from Aug.12-17,  with promotional and programming support. During Baltimore Fashion Week, BOPA’s Fashion Department will announce the top three designers from this year’s Project Artscape Fashion Weekend, who will showcase their designs at the Project Artscape Finale Show on Dec. 14, at the Walters Art Museum.

Project Artscape is grateful for the support and collaboration of the 2024 Project Artscape adjudicators, who have played a vital role in shaping the event’s success. Through their dedication and vision, Project Artscape continues to elevate Baltimore’s fashion community, providing opportunities for professional development and fostering creativity and innovation.

BOPA’s Fashion Initiative will continue to build new connections and leverage these partnerships to support and amplify Baltimore’s fashion community through expansive programming, special events, and opportunities for professional development. Stay tuned for updates by following BOPA on social media (@promoandarts). Learn more about BOPA’s fashion-focused programming and resources, and join them in celebrating the creativity and talent of Baltimore’s fashion scene.

As the excitement builds for the 40th edition of Artscape, the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) has announced two headline acts that promise to electrify audiences with their legendary performances.

Grammy-nominated percussionist Sheila E., known as the “Queen of Percussion,” will take the stage on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 8:45 p.m. on the Mt. Royal Station Main Stage. With her groundbreaking album “The Glamorous Life” celebrating its 40th anniversary, Sheila E. is set to deliver a captivating performance that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on all who attend.

Following Sheila E.’s electrifying set, The Original Wailers, featuring Al Anderson, lead guitarist for Bob Marley & The Wailers, will close out the celebration on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 3 p.m. With their iconic reggae sound and legendary status, The Original Wailers promise to bring the spirit of Bob Marley to the heart of Baltimore’s art scene.

But the excitement doesn’t end there. BOPA has teased a mystery performer to close out the first night of Artscape 40, promising a very special act to be announced in the days to come. With anticipation building and the stage set for an unforgettable weekend, Artscape 40 is shaping up to be a celebration of Baltimore’s vibrant art scene unlike any other.

The post Project Artscape Fashion Weekend celebrates 40 years of Artscape: A vibrant fusion of fashion, art and culture appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Jannette J. Witmyer
Special to the AFRO

Baltimore born-and-bred, artist Joyce Jane Scott is a master at interweaving life and art and making you look. From delicate pinky rings made with tiny seed beads to larger-than-life wall hangings and thought-provoking mixed media sculptures, Scott’s work is created one bead at a time– a marvel in and of itself. 

It’s something that one should keep in mind while viewing works she created, shown in her 50-year retrospective, “Joyce J. Scott: Walk A Mile In My Dreams,” currently at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA). Co-organized with the Seattle Art Museum, the exhibition will continue to show as a ticketed exhibition at the BMA through July 14. The free day to see the exhibit at the BMA is June 23. The exhibit will move to Seattle and show there from Oct. 17 to Jan. 20, 2025.

Scott is a marvel. The exhibition features 140 of her works and includes a new large-scale commission. Its presentation spans 10 themed galleries, with two areas for “Rest and Reflection.” 

A mastermind at marrying issues to art and consummating the union with thought-provoking works whose meanings are as intricate as their construction, Scott is a trickster with many talents. The exhibition displays the vast enormity of her ability to create beautiful art while addressing ugly issues, at times with an intentional nod and a wink, through the creation of sculptures, jewelry, performances pieces, clothing apparel and much more.

“I like to challenge myself when doing work. When people ask me, ‘What do you want to be Joyce?,’ it really is a 365 degree choice. It is someone who is always on a quest like that. It is somebody who is always looking for stuff and always challenging myself to do something different with what exists. Because I think that’s what progress is, and why not me? I’m doing it. And I’m failing (almost never), but that doesn’t stop me from trying. And you see that consistently in my art,” she explains and adds, “I want you to know how bodacious I am.”

Given that Scott is now enjoying her second major retrospective at the BMA, there is no question of her “bodaciousness.” The first, “Joyce J. Scott: Kickin’ It with the Old Masters,” celebrated her then 30-year career and was presented in partnership with Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), in 2000. In the years since, Scott’s work has been shown in a multitude of exhibitions throughout the U.S. and internationally, including the Venice Biennale, and she has earned numerous awards and honors, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and honorary doctorates from MICA, the California College of the Arts, and Johns Hopkins University.

Amy Eva Raehse, Executive Director and Partner at Goya Contemporary, who has represented Scott for over 25 years and manages her art trust says proudly, “An exhibition of this magnitude doesn’t happen overnight. Rather, it is the culmination of Joyce’s many years of hard work, building upon the insightful scholarship of others, and hundreds of exhibitions that preceded this moment. We started planning this exhibition over three years ago, and it has taken until now to fully realize it.”  

Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis director, describes the exhibition as a journey through time and emotional registers, and, in summation, declares, “It is a journey through what a heart that doesn’t have borders can do.”

Borders set limits and boundaries, neither of which is present in Scott’s art, whether you’re considering one of her creations’ topics or techniques. She is fearless in her resolve to take on society’s ugliest problems like racism, sexism, colorism, and the lot, or as she says it, “all the ‘isms’ society offers,” and render them defenseless through the beauty of her work. 

Anyone familiar with the art of Scott’s mother and first teacher, the late Elizabeth Talford Scott, understands the origins of her audacity. A retrospective of her work, “Eyewinkers, Tumbleturds, and Candlebugs: The Art of Elizabeth Talford Scott,” which was on exhibit at the BMA. Scott says that the one-time sharecropper and lifelong quilter passed on the tradition of quilting and began teaching her to embroider beads at the age of five. 

Using what she describes as the “passport” provided by her mother, a needle, thread, and beads, and the peyote stitch, taught to her by Sandy Fife Wilson, a Muscogee (Creek) Native American, Scott feels invincible applying her skills, and says, “From that I could be autonomous as the bead-worker. I could be as improvisational as possible. There’s no limit to it.”

Despite having received international acclaim, Scott remains a self-described “Baltimore around the way girl,” who continues to live in her hometown, maintaining deep and meaningful friendships and community ties. She is almost as well known for her generous spirit as she is for her many talents, and she would not have it any other way. 

“My skill allows me to do things in a very easy way. It takes so little to help somebody. It takes so little to make someone feel well, when you have the skill to do it. You just have to have the will to do. It takes so little,” she says.

Reflecting on the moment, she says, “Baltimore loves its people, and they really love me. I say that because of the support, the respect, and the warmth I receive every time I do an event. This exhibition represents 50 years of my producing artwork that started right here in Baltimore, from an around the way girl. I am celebrated because I am one of you. So, thank you all.”

###

Sidebar:

Free Programming for Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams 

Free Admission Days

Sunday, June 23

Admission to Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams is free for all visitors on these days. Use this link to register for a free timed pass. (Please only register for this popular event if you are certain you will attend.)

Art After Hours

Friday, June 14, 8–11 p.m.

Baltimore’s best late-night art party features late-night access to the galleries, free admission to Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams, and one free food or cocktail item with the price of admission. Enjoy a variety of activities and entertainment, specialty cocktails and appetizers, artmaking, and music.

Side Bar

Gary O’Neill, also known as Red Oak, elder of the Wangunk from Middletown, Connecticut, attended Mayland Institute College of Art with Scott and says that he was greatly influenced by her. 

“When she came back from San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, where she got her Master’s, she encouraged me to go to San Miguel de Allende, an art school, and I ended up going there first semester. I had a wonderful time, and we’ve stayed in touch all these years,” he says. 

The post ‘Joyce J. Scott: Walk A Mile In My Dreams,’ exhibit continues at Baltimore Museum of Art  appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer 
abrent@afro.com

The legacy of groundbreaking artist Elizabeth Talford Scott is gaining attention around the City of Baltimore with a series of exhibits displayed at nine different sites at different points throughout the year. “No Stone Left Unturned: The Elizabeth Talford Scott Initiative,” pulled together five museums and four university sites across the city in a unified tribute and celebration of Scott’s work. Each venue has worked with students in the Exhibition Development Seminar (EDS) at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) to organize a free public program and create a presentation of Scott’s work for their gallery spaces. 

Although the EDS course is taught at MICA, students from several schools including Johns Hopkins, Morgan and Coppin State Universities are enrolled in the course and have been involved in the curation and development of the exhibits. EDS instructor Deyane Moses, who also serves as Afro Charities’ curator of Archives, spoke on the origins of the program and what it’s bringing to the Baltimore area. 

“The city of Baltimore is getting the chance to learn more about Black women artists and to be re-introduced to Elizabeth Talford Scott, the mother of Joyce J. Scott, who is a well known artist in Baltimore. She was a fiber artist and the way in which she thought and worked is different than anything I’ve ever seen before,” Moses explained. “She included rocks and stones and other types of archival material like beads and different fabrics that she inherited from other people and her own personal travels and experiences.”

One of the museums participating in the initiative is the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Their exhibit, “BLACK WOMAN GENIUS: Elizabeth Talford Scott—Tapestries of Generations,” has been on display since February of this year and it features art from Scott and several other artists including her daughter, Joyce J.Scott. The multi-generational exhibit is broken up into four different themes, all of which pay homage to the impact the legendary artist made on the world of art. 

“The show is separated into four themes and the four themes are ancestry tradition, healing and fiber narratives. in our fiber narratives theme, we have pieces from Murjani Merriweather, and her work is focusing on pushing back against Eurocentric beauty standards that Black people and more specifically in this show Black women have faced,” explained Imani Haynes, the curator at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.

 “We also have work from Glenda Richardson. We‘re featuring one of her quilts ‘Black Lives Still Matter’ and it is a quilt where it’s remembering the lives of those who were murdered at the hands of police and in the center of that quilt, she has a Black woman with the Black Power fist raised and an African proverb quote, that says ‘They tried to bury us but didn’t know we were seeds.’” 

The Lewis Museum has one of Scott’s earliest pieces on display along with some of her other quilts. As the Lewis Museum honors her legacy they’ve also dedicated part of the exhibit to her trailblazing influence in the world of textile art and in regards to Black women in art overall. Other artists such as Merriweather and Richardson are being featured in the exhibit as well to help emphasize the creativity and beauty that exist within Black textile art. 

“When developing the show, we were thinking of her genius as a Black woman and fiber artist. “BLACK WOMAN GENIUS” is an exhibit where we are celebrating the life and legacy of Elizabeth Talford Scott, but we also wanted to position her as the mother figure to Black women and the fiber arts,” stated Haynes. “With Elizabeth being as groundbreaking as she was as a quilter, we wanted to make sure that the work of our featured Black women artists were doing the same.”

In addition to the Lewis Museum, the Walters Art Museum displayed some of Talford Scott’s work and highlighted her unique craftsmanship that has since inspired generations of artists. “Stitched Memories: Celebrating Elizabeth Talford Scott” highlights Talford Scott’s creativity explored the artist’s ability to fuse cultures and history. The Walters featured two of the three small sculptures that were created by Talford Scott and are simply titled “Chinese Pillow.” How these pillows added to the already extensive Chinese textile collection at the Walters was explained to the AFRO by Dany Chan, associate curator of Asian art at the Walters Art Museum. 

“The student curators came on board and they found out that Elizabeth had actually used a Chinese robe to make a total of three pillows and we were able to secure a second pillow.Two out of the three pillows are now on display in the exhibit,” said Chan. “‘Stitched Memories’ unique students were able to connect Elizabeth’s work to our historical Chinese Textile Collection. On view, we have a 19th century Chinese woman’s ceremonial cloud collar, and that cloud collar shape is invoked in the pillows.” 

“Elements of the cloud collars fabric and motifs were also used in the pillows themselves. We able to make connections for our visitors to demonstrate this great melding of time periods, of cultures but also of shared motifs,” Chan continued. 

The exhibit at the Walters Art Museum closed on May 12, but there is plenty of work to still be enjoyed. The work of Talford Scott is timeless and it continues to inspire and remain relevant to artists everywhere. The textile art pioneer is often overlooked and undermined, however projects like EDS and artists like Moses are helping keep her legacy well and alive. 

“Elizabeth Talford Scott, when you look at her work, it really shows you what creativity is. I feel like her work is something only she could come up with,” Moses exclaimed. “We would not have the amazing artist we have now if it had not been for her.”

Information on the open and ongoing exhibits can be found below: 

Kaleidoscope: Changing Perspectives

February 1 – May 19, 2024
The Peale
225 Holliday Street | thepeale.org

BLACK WOMAN GENIUS: Elizabeth Talford Scott—Tapestries of Generations

Feb. 1 – Sept. 30, 2024
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (RFLM)
830 East Pratt Street | lewismuseum.org

Material and Memories: Elizabeth Talford Scott and the Crazy Quilt Tradition

Feb. 1 – Dec. 1, 2024
Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC)
610 Park Avenue | mdhistory.org

The post Elizabeth Talford Scott honored at multiple art exhibits throughout Baltimore appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Jannette J. Witmyer
Special to the AFRO

Early on in her childhood, Anne Benna Sims, the first African-American ballerina to sign a contract with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), wanted to take lessons in dance, but she had to wait a few years before she was allowed to start. 

“My mother said that I could not,” said Sims. “I was five. She said that I couldn’t start until I was nine because my bones needed to be finished.”

According to Sims, once she was enrolled in classes at the Long Island Institute of Music in Queens, N.Y., she progressed quickly. 

“My very first class was basically just running, jumping, hopping and listening to the music,” said Sims. 

“Then I advanced into my beginning classes and moved right into first position, second position and all of that,” she shared, referencing beginner ballet technique.

Those classes served as the launchpad to her ongoing education in dance. Sims also had an interest in religious work and after a passing fascination with the habits and rosaries worn by the nuns at her Catholic school sparked a brief interest in becoming a nun, by age 13. However eventually her intuition led her to choose a career as a ballerina. Ironically, by the time she was 14, she had begun taking classes with the American Ballet Theatre School.

Growing up in New York allowed for access to a bounty of performances by what was considered “dance royalty.” She recalls being taken to see the Nutcracker with Suzanne Farrell, before she was 10; seeing “Firebird” with Maria Tallchief, “Prodigal Son” with Patricia Wilde, New York City Ballet, and Arthur Mitchell; and attending a Saturday youth program at Queens College, where she saw “Carmen de Lavallade,” “Martha Graham,” “Alwin Nikolais,” and many others. 

“My mom, God bless her soul, was very focused. And she knew I loved dance and wanted to be a ballet dancer,” said Sims. “So, by the time I was 16, I had seen all of these incredible dancers and companies. I saw and was exposed to everything, but I wanted to do ballet. That was it.”

Sims’ mother may have been responsible for most of her exposure, but when she was 13, her sister purchased tickets for them to see a Royal Ballet performance, in which her idols, Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, danced in “Giselle.” For her, the experience was a defining moment, which she describes, still somewhat in awe.

“At the beginning of the second act, he was dressed all in black. The doublet had slashes of white, and he wore white tights and white shoes, with this huge black cape and a bouquet of white lilies. And all he did was just walk diagonally across the stage,” she shared. “And then he walked straight across and just went off. It was the first time that I understood artistry. In that one little bit, he just radiated this sorrow, and this grief and regret… And all he did was walk. It was so beautiful.”

Sims says that she was excited to enter an apprenticeship with Harkness Ballet once she graduated high school. But after studying with the company for a year, following her audition, she was told that hers was a fruitless pursuit. 

“David Howard, who was the director at the time, called me into his office and said, ‘Well, you know, Anne… You will never get a job in this company. You’ll either have to go to Dance Theatre of Harlem, or Europe.’”

Sims says she went to the dressing room after that meeting and realized for the first time, while looking in the mirror, that she was the only Black dancer in the room. 

She refused to be deterred, and when the opportunity arose, she auditioned for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montréal and was accepted. She stayed with the company for a year and, at 19, traveled to Switzerland and joined the Geneva Opera Ballet at the invitation of the company director, Alfonso Catá. He became her mentor and invited her to join the Frankfurt Opera Ballet as a soloist, when he became its director. In 1977, she returned to the U.S.

“A group of us left in 1977. When we had come back, I worked with Eglevsky and the Puerto Rican Dance Theatre,” she mentioned. “Alfonso did ballet on Broadway, and the thing that was so amazing was that I turned down Alvin Ailey and had no idea where I was going.”

Then, as fate would have it, she joined a friend taking classes at ABT who had hopes of getting in, but, instead, she was the one offered a contract.

“It was my friend, Diane, who wanted to get into American Ballet Theatre. I started taking classes with her because I knew I was never going to get into Ballet Theatre, and it wasn’t really high on my list. In fact, it wasn’t on my list, at all,” she says, laughing. “And she was more excited than me. I was just going ‘I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.’”

Notably, Sims’ first principal role with ABT was in Anthony Tudor’s Undertow with Peter Fonseca, and she was a member of its first cast for the New York premiere of Paul Taylor’s Airs. 

The accomplished, former danseuse, who now lives in France, says that she’s not danced in over 40 years and has never been phased by the notion of being “the first Black.”

“One thing has always stuck in my mind; ‘Black ballerina’ is not a profession. It is a description. Therefore, I was a ballerina. I was a Black woman dancing ballet,” she explained.

“For me, the most important thing is my predecessors, as Black women in dance. So, it’s not a question of ballet. It’s a question of the spectrum. My history goes back to Katherine Dunham, who introduced Afro Cuban dance to America. It goes back to Josephine Baker, who was a star at the Moulin Rouge.”

The post Anne Benna Sims: American Ballet Theatre’s first African-American ballerina appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Layla Eason 
Special to the AFRO

Creative Alliance recently selected Jason Steer as the new executive director. The organization released a statement on the decision to have Steer join Creative Alliance after a career at New York’s renowned Apollo Theatre, where he held a variety of senior leadership positions in programming, education, and youth development. 

With more than 20 years of experience, Steer stands out for his dedication to community involvement, inclusion, strategic program development, and building partnerships throughout his career such as talent development on and off-screen.

“Baltimore presents an exhilarating opportunity for me to merge my personal journey with the diverse narratives of the city,” Steer said on his appointment. “As a creator, an immigrant, and a Black man, I’ve navigated the complexities of being misunderstood, and I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative power of art in giving voice to the voiceless.”

Steer is an inclusivity advocate who uses his innovative thinking to amplify voices that are often silenced, making sure their voices are heard, respected, and empowered. He has a degree in studio art with a concentration in sociology, which gives him a deep understanding of the relationship between art and culture. This allows him to interact with people who are interested in the arts from different cultural backgrounds.

During Steer’s tenure at the Apollo, he was a key contributor to the development of the Apollo’s comprehensive arts & entertainment succession pipeline program, which enabled the development of up-and-coming artists in the arts while fostering strong community connections.

Steer has joined Creative Alliance to create a season-long series of three disciplines: roots of creativity, live out loud, and feel the rhythm. One of the featured events is the Baltimore Crankie Festival which is a hand-cranked and scrolling panoramic storytelling event featuring live music. The event is set to return in May. 

Another event is the Great Halloween Lantern Parade and Festival which is celebrating its 25th anniversary and will also be held in May. The final event is the Walk By On exhibition, a collaboration between Baltimore artists and Charm City’s sister city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. During this event, there will be a series of movement, culinary courses, and creative arts classes in the Creativity Center. 

“In Baltimore, with its rich cultural tapestry, I see a canvas where art can be a bridge, connecting diverse experiences and fostering deeper understanding beyond words,” Steer said. “My aspiration is to contribute, even in modest ways, to amplifying the voices of artists and their creations in this vibrant community, championing their stories as they shape the city’s unique identity.” 

Creative Alliance’s five-year strategic plan focuses on developing programs that promote personal growth and self-empowerment, social cohesion and community, and career development for artists.

The alliance’s state-of-the-art Creativity Center opened in November 2022, offering a variety of courses and workshops for teens and adults, as well as free after-school programs for low-income families. 

In 2024, Amy Seto, Brown Advisory Partner and longtime Creative Alliance patron and supporter, will take office as the organization’s board president. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Jason Steer to Creative Alliance and to Baltimore. Jason brings to us his vision and experience in spearheading impactful initiatives and cultivating strategic collaborations. He will lead our beloved staff and organization to new heights,” Seto said. 

The Baltimore community will benefit from Steer’s breadth of experience, creative leadership, and dedication to service. Steer’s story continues to be an example of how arts and culture can positively impact lives and communities.​

The post Jason Steer begins as Creative Alliance’s executive director  appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Beverly Richards
Special to the AFRO 

If you have driven by the North Avenue side of Coppin State University, at the corners of Warwick and West North avenues within the past five months or so, you probably noticed this covered anomaly posted in front of the campus’ new College of Business. You were not alone. Faculty, staff and students felt the same way. The shape seemed to have no rhyme or reason. But on Feb. 22, the Coppin community, members from the Maryland Arts Council, alumni and friends gathered for the dedication ceremony of the latest edition to the State of Maryland’s public art collection.

The anticipation of the unveiling was worth the wait. Entitled “Community of Stars,” the bronze sculpture consists of people, collectively reaching, embracing, and holding each other up, creating a symbiotic bond, despite their individual narratives. 

Artist Nnamdi Okonkwo created the large-scale piece to symbolize the students as stars shining light on the Coppin community. It is also more than a moment of artistic achievement, but a celebration of community, faith and hope for all who pass by.

Nnamdi currently resides in Atlanta, but prior to beginning work on the sculpture, he paid a visit to the campus. He said he purposely studied the corner on which the sculpture would stand and felt the energy of the community. Nnamdi went back to Georgia and created what he described as a “three-dimensional statement” on the commonalities of humanity.

“I wanted to create something that wasn’t just an art piece. I wanted to create something that was living– that has a soul–because I felt that there are people here that will need to be inspired,” he said.

The sculpture was funded by the Maryland State Arts Council. The Council uses public dollars to invest in communities across the state, giving them access to the transformative power of art. “We do this,” said Steven Skerritt-Davis, executive director of the Maryland State Arts Council., because public art gives us a sense of who we are. Art communicates our values and I think this is an amazing example of that type of communication.” Nnamdi was selected for this commission through the state’s Percent-for-Art program. 

“This institution and this art are bigger than what people will ever imagine,” said Coppin State University President Anthony L. Jenkins. “As I looked at this, I saw the spiritual piece that was talking about – the intertwining of the struggle of people of color. And yet the struggle is beautiful– and it’s bold. It is a representation of excellence.”

Unbeknownst to Nnamdi, the sculpture ties right into Coppin’s path to BE MORE for each other, our students, and the communities we serve. “Community of Stars” is a true symbol of West Baltimore…it is rising. It is this type of vision that allows us to continue to do that unapologetically,” said Jenkins. “And it will serve as a sign of welcome for all.”

The post Coppin State University unveils a soulful sculpture appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Originally beginning as a trio in 1925, The Four Step Brothers formed a legendary tap dancing group that is still revered almost a century later. Maceo Anderson, founder of The Step Brothers, always took a liking to dance. As a young boy living in Los Angeles, he used to sneak into the Lafayette Theatre to watch and mimic dance routines alongside his friends. 

At the ripe age of 15 years old, Anderson recruited Al Williams and Red Walker to form what was originally known as The Step Brothers. To avoid confusion with another young, high-profile tap dancing crew with the same name, they changed their name to “The Three Step Brothers.” When Sherman Robinson was added to the team, they adopted the name “The Four Step Brothers.” 

The quartet began their journey traveling with world-renowned musician Duke Ellington. The group would regularly show off their talents performing at the prestigious Cotton Club in Harlem, N.Y. in their early years. The Four Step Brothers are credited with being the first Black act to perform at Radio City Music Hall, something they did perennially for a whole decade. However, their performances wouldn’t be confined solely to New York. As a matter of fact, they “tapped” their way across the globe a reported four times. 

“I learned about The Four Step Brothers a few years back in my high school dance history class. The Four Step Brothers for many years broke barriers in dance and they’re a part of Black history. The Four Step Brothers are known for their integration of dance moves,” said former dancer Joslyn Smith, a student of University of Maryland, College Park. 

The Four Step Brothers were revered for their complex dance moves in which they incorporated rhythm tap, straight acrobatics, blues dancing and the camel walk, which was a move heavily used by singer and songwriter James Brown when he would perform. One of the signature parts of their performances were when they would do “challenge dances.” The Four Step Brothers would each do a solo while the other three would stand back and make a beat themselves by stomping their feet and clapping their hands. Each dancer’s goal was to outdo the other three. 

The Four Step Brothers would go on to perform for former presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. They also had an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The “Brothers” ended up being one of the longest-lasting dance groups in history as they would perform together for more than four decades, when founder Anderson was in his 50s. 

“Being a part of art during the period of the Harlem Renaissance spoke volumes. put them in places like the Cotton Club and allowed them to perform in a series of movies,” said Smith. “Using those skills really set them apart, increased their business as a dance team and gave them the opportunity to appear in more movies and music.”

The Four Step Brothers received two Lifetime Achievement Awards on behalf of the Dance Masters of America. They received their first in 1960 and then the latter in 1985 for breaking the color barrier in dance. Three years later, in 1988, The Four Step Brothers were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Although the group stayed together for almost 40 years, the brothers that made up the group did change a few times. Edward Bozeman was one of the more notable additions to the group. He had danced professionally previously and went by the nickname “Prince.” 

Bozeman would typically dance last and was particularly known for his acrobatics and flips. One of the great things about The Four Step Brothers is that they would always allow each other to do in their own style. Bozeman, likely due to his energy and athleticism, remembers other members thinking he was a kid when in all actuality he was 35 years old when he joined the group.

 In 1968, the final addition to the group was a then 10-year-old kid who was only in the fourth grade when he got recruited to join the crew. Terry Criner, who was also known as “Little Terry,” had a dance style that was very similar to Bozeman’s, but Criner came with even more energy and more advanced tricks such as no-hand head flips. Criner would even incorporate break dancing moves like head spins. Criner was taken under Anderson’s wing as the founder of The Four Step Brothers and Anderson would assist in refining Criners tap dancing so it could be up to par with his acrobatics. 

After some convincing from Anderson, Criner decided to continue to carry the baton and created a new dance group called Third Generation Steps. The group was made up of Criner, Cindy Notz and Ivery Wheeler. Third Generation Steps would see 11 years of success in the show business, but at the young age of 21, Criner decided to retire and with him went the Third Generation Step crew. 

Some of Anderson’s relatives decided to walk in the footsteps of his legacy and also pursue a career in dance. Robert L. Reed, who is the grandson of Anderson, actually became a dance professor and did a little bit of live performance himself. He went on to establish his own dancing school called Robert L. Reed Tap Heritage Institute, which is located in St. Louis, Missouri. He founded the St. Louis Tap festival in 1992 and on July 30, 2005, St. Louis mayor Francis Slay declared that day to be “Robert L. Reed Tap Heritage Day.”

The post The Four Step Brothers: Tapping into greatness through dance  appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Ariyana Griffin 
Special to the AFRO

Spike Lee’s special exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum recently closed after taking thousands on a journey through his collection of art, photos and memorabilia– all connected to his career, interests and life. 

Lee, born in Atlanta and raised in Brooklyn, is an Academy Award and prime time Emmy winner, screenwriter, actor, director and author. His museum exhibit, “Spike Lee: Creative Sources,” was a compilation of some of his most prized possessions, which helped fuel his world renowned projects.

Over 450 pieces of his personal collection, taken from his home and the Brooklyn-based 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks studio, were included in the exhibit. Lee shared that it was just a small portion of pieces amassed over his lifetime. 

“It’s been difficult to dwindle down– even with this show. There is still a lot of stuff that can’t make it because there is only a limited amount of space,” he said in an interview with the Brooklyn Museum. “I’m still collecting, and I’m not stopping now,” he said. 

It is safe to say you did not have to be an art fanatic to find your place at the exhibit. There was something in his collection for everyone. The exhibit was an ode to music, Black history and culture, sports, Brooklyn and collectors. 

A proud graduate of Morehouse College class of 1979, Lee also paid homage to his alma mater and Spelman College, where his mother and grandmother graduated from. The exhibit also highlighted his father’s heavy music background and his brother’s love for photography. 

The rooms mimicked a movie set with wood outlines that contrasted with the vibrant colors on the walls. Visitors could view photographs and signed items from civil rights activists, such as Angela Davis and authors such as Alice Walker. Many of the items included in the installation were signed by some of the world’s most renowned figures. 

One-of-a-kind pieces, such as a guitar gifted by the late great Prince, Air Jordans worn during a winning game from Micheal Jordan and a magazine signed to Lee by Kobe Bryant were on display as well.

The die hard New York Knicks fan, Lee had a room dedicated to the team. He even collected the basketball net from their first world championship win in 1970, which he witnessed at age 13. Original ticket stubs, newspaper clippings and jerseys worn by those he calls heroes took over the space. 

Visitors were able to get a taste of Brooklyn’s culture by sitting and taking photos on a prop stoop. A message behind it read, “There’s something about Brooklyn. It’s the people, the diversity, the culture, the people who make up this great borough. I mean I grew up here and it’s developed the person who I am and who I’ve become, and so therefore that has been the subject of a lot of my films.”

A few hours were needed to fully take in the exhibit, as it was definitely not one to speed through. The peak into Spike Lee’s world closed on Feb. 11 at the Brooklyn Museum. 

The post Brooklyn Museum pays homage to Spike Lee with exhibit appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Ericka Alston Buck 
Special to the AFRO 

The Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts (BHCLA) at Johns Hopkins University set the stage for an extraordinary year of programming with a vibrant celebration of Black culture at the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center on Jan. 12. 

The event, hosted at the heart of Baltimore’s cultural scene, brought together artists and audiences from diverse backgrounds to champion cultural and educational programming in the visual and performing arts.

BHCLA, an initiative dedicated to building bridges between Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore’s historic African American communities, kicked off its year with an evening that celebrated the strengths and potential of both entities. The Eubie Blake National Jazz Center served as the perfect backdrop for an event that aimed to foster organic links and create a space for cultural enrichment.

The evening’s main attractions were BHCLA Artist-in-Residence Jamal Moore and former WEAA radio host/deejay, “Doc” Manning. 

Moore, a native of Baltimore, is a multi-talented artist with a rich background in music and education. His performance and participation in the roundtable discussion added a layer of depth to the evening. Manning, an iconic figure in Baltimore’s music scene, brought his 30 years of experience as a radio host to the table, creating a dynamic duo that resonated with the diverse audience.

Panel discussion: Exploring Jazz appreciation

The festivities commenced with a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Lawrence Jackson, the director of Johns Hopkins University’s Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts. The panelists, Moore and “Doc” Manning, shared personal stories and insights into their appreciation of jazz as young individuals. Moore highlighted the influence of his parents and the rich cultural and spiritual environment he grew up in, providing a glimpse at the roots of his musical journey.

As Moore shared stories of growing up in a pan-African politically conscious household, the audience gained a deeper understanding of his journey. From being told in grade school that his hands were too small to play the saxophone to wowing the crowd with his musical prowess during the performance that followed the roundtable, Moore’s story embodied resilience and determination.

When asked what he wanted attendees to walk away with from having attended the event Moore said “I would love for everyone to walk away with an enlightened mind and to be musically and spiritually, healed.” 

Attendees were encouraged to stay engaged with BHCLA, with upcoming events scheduled for April 18th at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Sept. 7th, featuring the return of the Lafayette Square Jazz Concert. These events promise to continue the celebration of cultural diversity, artistic expression and community engagement.

The evening began with a catered reception and the chance for attendees to explore the “Birth of Baltimore Jazz” archival exhibit. By the end of the night, audience members were basking in the sounds delivered by Moore. 

As BHCLA embarks on a new year of programming, this kickoff event set the tone for an enriching journey that celebrates the vibrancy of Black culture, fosters organic connections, and highlights the amazing potential within Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore’s historic African-American communities. The BHCLA invites everyone to join them in the upcoming events, ensuring a year filled with cultural exploration and artistic expression.

The post BHCLA launches year of programming with evening of culture at Baltimore’s Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Ericka Alston Buck
Special to the AFRO

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum was set ablaze with anticipation on the evening of Jan. 11, 2024, as the crème de la crème of Baltimore gathered for the exclusive 2024 Baltimore Met Gala theme reveal. 

Created by the dynamic duo LaRian Finney and Derrick Chase, the event promised to not only announce the highly anticipated theme for 2024 but also be a reminder of their mesmerizing fusion of fashion, art and culinary delights while recognizing impact leaders in business, entertainment, and the community, that the Baltimore Met Gala has solidified with year three.

The doors of the iconic Reginald F. Lewis Museum opened at 6 p.m., welcoming a line of select stakeholders, designers, artists, models, restaurant owners and community leaders. The event, meticulously crafted for an exclusive invite-only audience, set the stage for an evening of opulence and cultural celebration.

As guests parked along the street or at the Pratt Street Garage, the buzz of excitement filled the air. The chosen venue for this year’s gala remained a well-guarded secret, adding an extra layer of intrigue to an already captivating event. Attendees eagerly await the big reveal on Feb. 15, 2024, while knowing that wherever it may be, the chosen location will serve as the canvas for an unforgettable night just as the inaugural Baltimore Museum of Art and last year’s M&T Exchange at The Hippodrome has in years past. 

“Adam & Eve, Enter the Garden”: A theme of cultural significance

The room pulsed with excitement as executive producer LaRian Finney unveiled the theme for 2024, “Adam & Eve, Enter the Garden.”  Finney expressed the Gala’s mission: “We continue our mission of culturally relevant and culturally sensitive events with community impact. We want to lift Baltimore designers, artists, and chefs and create an ecosystem for success.”

This theme promises a journey into a mythical garden, a celebration of creativity, and an ode to cultural relevance. Attendees can expect a night that transcends the ordinary, with fashion, art and culinary experiences intertwined to create an immersive and unforgettable atmosphere.

The return of last year’s winning team

Adding to the excitement, the winning team from the previous year made a triumphant return. Lana Rae, fashion producer; Shajuan Finney, event decor; Earle Bannister and Jody Davis as fashion designers; Ernest Shaw, art curator; A. Deveaux, culinary curator; and Jeff Butler, photography curator, ensured that this year’s gala would be nothing short of spectacular.

Before the grand reveal, executive producer Derrick Chase took the stage, weaving an inspirational narrative focused on faith and the power of belief. In a compelling story, Chase spoke about overcoming the seeds of doubt planted in each of us, forgiving those who planted them, and focusing on cultivating fertile ground.

Chase emphasized the journey to the Baltimore Met Gala 2024 as a testament to belief, confidence and resilience. His words resonated through the room, setting the tone for a night that went beyond glamor and extravagance.

As the night unfolded, Finney and Chase revealed their ambitious plans for the 2024 Baltimore Met Gala, projecting an attendance of 2,000 individuals. The promise of a grander, more expansive celebration echoed through the venue, leaving attendees eagerly anticipating what the night would hold.

In the heart of Baltimore, where culture, creativity and community converge, the Met Gala 2024 has set the stage for a year of excitement, inspiration and unforgettable moments. The theme is unveiled, the team is ready, and the city is poised for an extravaganza like never before. The countdown to the grand event on Sept. 14 has begun, and Baltimore is buzzing with anticipation for what promises to be a truly spectacular evening, the third annual Baltimore Met Gala.

The post Baltimore Met Gala 2024: Unveiling ‘Adam & Eve, Enter the Garden’ in a night of glamor and inspiration appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com

There are wine bars, and there are plant stores. But, what if the two were combined? Former metallurgical engineer Quincy Goldsmith has done just that in Baltimore with Stem and Vine. 

When walking into the business, located on the 300 block North Charles Street, you see not only plants from all over the world, but a full-service bar with space for fellowship and community.  Its tagline is “cultivating the art of living well.” 

“When this came together I wanted Stem and Vine to be more than just houseplants,” said Goldsmith. “I wanted it to be more culture-based and to highlight the diversity in the world of houseplants– but also of cultures and how plants have been traditionally used.” 

Stem and Vine’s plant offerings are arranged in the store by origin, separated into the Americas, Australia and Africa. The business also sells ceramics and painting, primarily created by women of color. 

But, Goldsmith does not just want residents to use the space to buy plants and have a glass of wine. He intends to invite other business owners, nonprofits and political leaders to host small conferences and events for the public. 

“This is not a plant shop,” said Goldsmith. “This is a whole lot more than that. I want this to be a cultural community center and hub for downtown Baltimore.” 

Goldsmith wants to delve into the world of edutainment, or educational entertainment, by hosting wine tasting and workshops on topics such as plant care, horticultural therapy, ethnobotany and financial literacy. Drawing from his science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) background, he is set to host a plant science summer camp at Stem and Vine for Baltimore youth. 

Foremost, Goldsmith wants Stem and Vine to be a gathering place for the city’s women of color to share ideas and strategies for making Baltimore better. 

“This was done with intentionality, and the intention is to bring women together to help solve Baltimore’s problems,” said Goldsmith. “I want to create a space where ideas can be shared by people who have the means to create change and move the city forward. I think there’s evidence that Black women are going to be the backbone of that.” 

Claudia Jolin, vice president of economic development for the downtown Partnership of Baltimore, met Goldsmith in 2019 while the pair participated in a civic leadership program. 

At Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, Jolin focuses on business recruitment and retention. Since Shelonda Stokes, president of the partnership came on board, Jolin said there’s been a push to attract retail stores to vacant spaces in downtown Baltimore, as it’s one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in the city. 

In talking to Goldsmith, Jolin learned about his aspirations to open Stem and Vine. She then directed him to a grant program from the partnership, Operation Storefront, which supplies entrepreneurs with grant money to relocate their operations to vacant downtown spaces. 

“One thing about downtown: our average age of residents is around 32. They love wine, and they love plants,” said Jolin. “My retail analysis suggests that we don’t have a lot of children downtown, but we have a pretty good disposable income of people who want to spend money on themselves.” 

Jolin said the partnership is particularly looking to attract businesses that can serve as “third spaces,” or places where people can spend time between home and work. Stem and Vine suits this purpose. 

“Quincy’s space is that. You can go in, grab a plant and leave, or you can go in, have a couple of glasses of wine, talk to Quincy about plants and start meeting people in your community,” said Jolin. “That’s something downtown has been lacking for a while, which is why I believe this location is going to be so successful. It’s not just a store, it’s a place to go.” 

Megan Sayles is a Report For America corps member. 

The post Stem and Vine opens in Baltimore, cultivating a space for community, plants and wine appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Aria Brent 
AFRO Staff Writer 
abrent@afro.com

The Walters Art Museum opened their latest art exhibit “Ethiopia at the Crossroads” to the public  on Dec. 3. The exhibit has 1,750 years worth of Ethiopian art, antiques and artifacts that display the African nation’s rich history from a cultural, artistic and religious standpoint. 

Home of more than 220 historical Ethiopian objects, the Walters has a world-renowned collection that has been amplified by lenders in America, Europe and Ethiopia, making for a display of Eastern African culture like no other.  

Before the exhibit made its debut, the AFRO spoke with art curator Christine Sciacca about all the planning that went into this exhibit, what guests can anticipate when visiting and what this display of art is bringing to the Baltimore area. 

AFRO: How did the creation of this exhibit come about ? 

Sciacca: “This exhibit was actually an idea I proposed at my interview for this job. I started working at the Walters about six years ago and I heard about their incredible Ethiopian art collection. It’s one of the largest outside of Ethiopia.”

AFRO : With over 1,750 years of art and artifacts to choose from, what influenced you to choose the pieces shown in the exhibit ? 

Sciacca: “I did the impossible and included all 1,700 years worth of artwork. I was really interested in seeing how Ethiopia was not an isolated place; it was very interactive with all the different regions around it such as other parts of Africa, Europe and Asia as well. What I thought about doing was taking that collection and looking at different points throughout Ethiopian history. It started with our collection–we have the earliest material of coins that come from the rulers of the Aksumite kingdom. I broke the exhibit up into different points of interaction. Here at the Walters we collect mostly the Christian art of Ethiopia. A lot of people don’t realize Ethiopia was the second Christian nation on the planet. They adopted Christianity in the mid-fourth century, so a lot of their artwork was for the church. Our collection really focuses on that Christian art of Ethiopia; I needed to take loans from other places. We have 25 lenders for the exhibition to help fill out the whole story about what Ethiopia was throughout its history and what it is today.”

AFRO: What can visitors anticipate from this exhibit ?

Sciacca: “I really wanted it to be an immersive experience. A person in Ethiopia understands the landscape; they know the sights, the smells, the sounds. But many visitors won’t have that experience. We’ve done a gallery with some big wall murals showing scenes of ancient Aksum which still exist today. We also have scent cards that will be placed throughout the show at three different stations. We have one that smells like frankincense, another where you can smell berbere spice, which is a very common spice in Ethiopian cooking, and the third one is the smell of an Ethiopian manuscript. It’s a full manuscript and you’ll be able to see what they smell like. They have a very distinct smell. I’m not  Ethiopian myself so I had a very helpful advisory committee from the community here in the DMV who gave me lots of advice about these things. I really relied on them to guide the decisions that I made about what this should be. We were able to capture some of their voices in videos that we’ll see in the exhibition. We’re going to have a church service at an Ethiopian church in Washington. We have little sound bites from various community advisory members talking very clearly about what is the significance of Ethiopian art to them. It’s different when you’re the voice in your own area and when you’ve  lived and grown up with this culture. That was important for me to hear those voices in conjunction with the Ethiopian language.” 

AFRO: Why does the Baltimore community need something like this ? 

Sciacca: “The DMV in general has the largest Ethiopian diaspora population in the U.S. by far, but also only blocks away from the Walters is little Ethiopia, where there are Ethiopian-owned restaurants and shops. We have that right here in Baltimore. We started collecting Ethiopian art here at the Walters in the 1990s. We were actually the first to do a major exhibition of Ethiopian art, at all, in the U.S. It was a show called ‘African Zion’ and it opened in 1993. It started at the Walters and then traveled to seven different venues across the United States. That was really the first exhibition to show Ethiopian art to American audiences. I think the thinking with that was to connect with the very strong Ethiopian audience in the area, but also the general African-American population in the Baltimore area as well. They felt that there was a broader connection to be made, and with this exhibition we’re hoping to continue that. We show Ethiopian art in a slightly different way. A lot of times when you visit museums if you’re lucky enough to see Ethiopian art it’ll be shown with African art, but we will be showing it in the context of Christian art. We hope that this really does resonate with our broader community here in Baltimore.”

AFRO: Although Ethiopia is so diverse can you talk to me about how vital this exhibit is to both historic and modern Black history and culture ?

Sciacca: “I think the broader impact is all those connectors that have happened abroad. In addition to what’s happening in the present day – in terms of contemporary art extending beyond Ethiopia’s borders – it’s also showcasing the significance of Ethiopia never having been colonized, and that’s a point of pride for Ethiopians, but I think for the broader community as well, from my understanding. This, to me, is highlighting one of the great cultures out of Africa and how long tradition has been in Ethiopia and how important it is for the history of Africa.”

This article has been edited for clarity.

The post The Walters Art Museum opens new exhibit displaying 1,750 years of Ethiopian art  appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By AFRO Staff

Every year, the much-anticipated Forbes 30 Under 30 List features rising stars in several industries. The magazine receives more than 20,000 nominations, collectively, for the North America, Europe and Asia lists. Then, that list is refined – researched, analyzed and vetted – until 600 candidates emerge for the U.S. list. Among those luminaries, Black innovators and artists usually shine bright. Alumni include the likes of Zendaya, John Boyega, Kendrick Lamar and Stephen Curry. This year’s 86 honorees are no less impressive, featuring Broadway’s youngest Black playwright, Jordan E. Cooper, U.S. sprinter Sha’carri Richardson, and social media’s favorite food critic, Keith Lee. Here is the 2024 list of Forbes’ (Black) 30 Under 30:

Music

• Latto, rapper  
• Ice Spice, rapper
• Steve Lacy, musician
• Bktherula, rapper
• Trippie Redd, rapper
• Armani White, musician

Art & Style

• Paul Hill, founder, Strada
• Adefolakunmi Adenugba, founder, Ise-Da
• Tia Adeola, founder, Tia Adeola
• Akea Brionne, artist
• Josh Holm, founder, Castles & Queens 
• Kreshonna Keane, founder, Visuals By K Studios
• Ludovic Nkoth, artist
• Ambrose Rhapsody Murray, artist
• Larissa Rogers, artist
• Courtney Spears, dancer
• Justice Faith Betty and Nia Faith Betty, co-founders, Révolutionnaire
• Kendra Walker, founder, Atlanta Art Week
• Jacob Webster, photographer
• Sophia Wilson, photographer

Hollywood and entertainment 

• Jordan E. Cooper, playwright
• Jasmin Savoy Brown, actor
• Eric Jordan Darnell, agent, William Morris Endeavor
• Gabe Kunda, voice actor
• Lexi Underwood, actor
• Alyah Chanelle Scott, actor

Consumer Technology 

• Tony Morino, co-founder, Wiseday
• Fai Nur, Blossom Okonkwo and Great Okonkwo, co-founders, Wishroll

Education

• Savannah Smith and Ebony Welborn, co-founders, Sea Potential
• Justin Shaifer, founder, Fascinate Media
• Myles Gage, co-founder of Rapunzl
• Alliyah Logan, co-founder, Cultivate Global Education

Energy

• Kiana Kazemi, co-founder, Intersectional Environmentalist

Food

• Camari Mick, executive pastry chef, The Musket Room
• Keith Lee, creator/social media food critic

Games

• Xalavier Nelson Jr., founder, Strange Scaffold

Manufacturing and industry  

• Oluseun Taiwo, co-founder, Solideon

Marketing and advertising 

• Chinonye Vanessa Mbonu, vice president of Digital Marketing & Communications, NAACP 
• Brandon Smithwrick, head of content, Kickstarter
• Shauna James, senior manager, Digital Marketing of Black Music, Atlantic Records
• Bridget Kyeremateng, senior manager, Inclusive Marketing, Twitch
• Simone Jackson, global brand manager, Spotify
• Amala Okpala, strategic partner manager, Instagram

Media

• Dillon St. Bernard, founder, Team DSB
• Devon Blackwell, associate producer, The New Yorker
• Dominic-Madori Davis, reporter, Techcrunch
• Hunter Harris, writer
• Aiyana Ishmael, associate editor, Teen Vogue
• Mya-Breyana Morton, co-founder, Unconscious Media
• Paula Ngon, senior global communications manager, Condé Nast

Science

• Clare Luckey, aerospace engineer, NASA
• Nialah Wilson-Small, industry assistant professor, New York University
• Matthew Clarke, assistant professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Saadia Gabriel, incoming assistant professor, University of California, Los Angeles

Social Impact

• Wawa Gatheru, founder, Black Girl Environmentalist
• Sydney Montgomery, founder, Barrier Breakers

Social Media

• Drew “Druski” Desbordes, creator
• Taylor Cassidy, creator 
• Drea Okeke, creator
• Monet McMichael, creator

Sports 

• Ronald Acuña Jr., outfielder, Atlanta Braves
• Nepheesa Collier, forward, Minnesota Lynx
• Anthony Edwards, shooting guard, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Austin Ekeler, running back, Los Angeles Chargers
• Matt Howard, senior associate, KB Partners, a venture capital firm fostering teams focused on intersection of sports and technology
• Stasia Foster, brand consulting executive/sports marketer, Creative Artists Agency 
• Lamar Jackson, quarterback, Baltimore Ravens
• Tyshawn Jones, professional skateboarder
• Kyle Kuzma, forward, Washington Wizards
• Angel Reese, forward, Louisiana State University
• Sha’carri Richardson, sprinter, Team USA
• Isiah Turner, agent, WME Sports

Retail & e-commerce

• Amira Rasool, founder, The Folklore Group
• Philomina Kane, founder, Kin Apparel
• Kadidja Dosso, founder, Dosso Beauty
• Jordan Bentley, founder, Hypland 

Finance

• Temilayo Butler, vice president, Harbourview Equity Partners
• Saheedat Onifade, investment strategist, Churchill Asset Management
• Nina Meyers, growth equity investor, Goldman Sachs
• Kennedy Ekezie, founder, Kippa

Venture Capital 

• Sesana Allen, associate Investor, Smash Capital
•  Brandon Greer, director of corporate development, Hubspot

The post Black stars shine on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List 2024 appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

Baltimore is among nine jurisdictions across the nation to be chosen by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to receive its 2023 Culture of Health Prize.

The Prize celebrates communities across the country where residents and organizations are collaborating to build solutions to barriers that have created unequal opportunities for health and wellbeing. With the Prize, RWJF seeks to inspire others to take action and create a healthier future for everyone’s children and grandchildren. 

Since partnership within communities is at the heart of the Prize, it is awarded to whole cities, towns, tribes, reservations and counties. The 2023 Prize winners, which will each receive $250,000, are Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Detroit, Michigan; Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles County, California; Ramsey County, Minnesota; Tacoma, Washington; and Zuni Pueblo.

“The work of our current and past Prize winners highlights the real staying power of community-born solutions, and their success inspires greater collaboration across public and private sectors,” said Dr. Julie Morita, RWJF executive vice president. “This year’s winners demonstrate what’s possible when we work in partnership and ensure that community members with lived experience take the lead to identify and dismantle barriers to health and wellbeing.”

Baltimore was chosen for this year’s cohort because it is the first U.S. city to successfully move policy forward that supports mental health through trauma-informed care, driving a cultural shift toward a trauma-responsive government that centers hope and healing. Mandating training for thousands of city employees, Healing City Baltimore’s partnership has already led to the elimination of truancy and zero-tolerance drug policies in the city’s library system. Before the training, if someone entered the library and appeared to be under the influence, they would be kicked out of the library and written up. Now they are getting help and as a result, Baltimore has become a model for similar efforts beginning in Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

Here’s more about the other nominees:

Detroit, Michigan: Demonstrating a deep commitment to address structural racism has inspired change in Detroit that cuts across race, ZIP codes, and age groups. Detroit’s work exemplifies the strength that comes from partnerships to create more comprehensive solutions to its community’s challenges. The Detroit Association of Black Organizations, a federation of more than 130 Black and non-Black organizations, has worked together with many partners across Detroit to build community unity that empowers residents with access to a wide range of resources, services, and education—including high blood pressure screening, after-school programs, and suicide prevention efforts—and advocates for community needs through the media.

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation: Members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa have built collaborative strategies that bring back traditional ways of living that have been with them forever but were dormant or taken away because of colonial and racist oppression. For example, after advocating for the legalization of their language, traditional games, and other cultural practices, the band has revitalized the Ojibwe way of life throughout the community. Members developed a robust food system based on cultural practices; and successfully brought about public health-driven policies and programs related to mitigating smoking, youth detention, and incarceration. 

Houston, Texas: Houston is a city known for its foodie culture, but historical redlining and structural racism means many neighborhoods lack healthy food. Black-led organizations from different communities are working to change that by using urban farming, farmer’s markets, and corner stores to make healthy foods available to their communities and stimulate economic growth. For example, the Community Health Equity Network, a collective effort of interconnected leaders, communities, and organizations, is increasing access to nutritious foods in Houston’s historically Black and Latino neighborhoods. The partnership in Houston is committed to training community members in advocacy so that they can continue to influence local policy and lead needed solutions to the challenges their communities are facing.

Los Angeles County, California: In Los Angeles, California, a movement for Black families is leading the county toward a Culture of Health that centers joy and justice by addressing structural racism at the root of Black maternal health disparities. Because of this work, over 500 Black individuals who have given birth and their families in Los Angeles have received free doula support, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is shifting toward antiracism in culture and policies. The Los Angeles County African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Prevention Initiative’s extraordinary efforts are demonstrating the power of what is possible when partners share a vision for liberation and an understanding that systems of care—not Black families—need to change to address structural racism. Partners share a vision for ending disparities in Black maternal and infant mortality by upholding communities that are best positioned to support families that give birth.

Ramsey County, Minnesota: Located in the heart of Saint Paul’s Twin Cities region, Ramsey County is home to communities that are proactive in building their own future to heal the wrongs of the past. The strong foundation of on-the-ground community partnerships was built out of a desire to regain Kujichagulia (self-determination). Kujichagulia 2.0 is a unique effort between the community-based nonprofit Cultural Wellness Center, Ramsey County, and the Black Community Commission on Health. Making Black community members integral to county decision-making—while keeping the responsibility to policymakers—is central to their goal of eliminating systematized racist practices related to health, housing, education, career opportunities, and other issues that disproportionately affect the Black community.

Tacoma, Washington: In downtown Tacoma, you’ll see a large and colorful mural that depicts the details of Resolution 40622, Tacoma’s declaration to become an antiracist city. Partners in the Tacoma Anchor Network share a vision that everyone is treated with fairness and worthiness, that everyone has what they need to make ends meet, and that young people in the city have a real shot at their best future. Tacoma is tackling economic inequity through innovative, citywide approaches focused on supporting people of color and removing barriers. For example, Tacoma’s Equity Index allows the city and partners to quantify, and map needs and then distribute resources equitably.  

Zuni Pueblo: For Zuni Pueblo, fostering a Culture of Health centers on reclaiming sovereignty by reintroducing centuries-old farming practices and working across generations to preserve language and cultural practices. Because partners have focused their work on language and culture reclamation, they have been able to uplift culture as an avenue for achieving community health. At the center of it all is Zuni’s deeply unifying approach. The Zuni Youth Enrichment Project collectively addresses issues such as food sovereignty, community education, cultural preservation, sustainable agriculture and gardening, and water conservation. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, partners worked together with the Zuni Agricultural Committee to create and distribute gardening and rain harvesting kits to over 500 families, reintroducing traditional gardening practices and providing critical resources.

ABOUT THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is committed to improving health and health equity in the United States. In partnership with others, it is working to develop a Culture of Health rooted in equity that provides every individual with a fair and just opportunity to thrive, no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they have. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

The post PRESS ROOM: Baltimore among the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 2023 Culture of Health Prize winners appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Aria Brent 
AFRO Staff Writer 
abrent@afro.com

Regardless of the genre, music plays a special role in the human experience by providing us with sounds that help define certain moments, feelings and occasions. Everyone seems to have a soundtrack to their life. 

Certain sounds can connect with and impact different parts of the body–even everyday noises can provoke a reaction according to the National Institutes of Health. 

The organization shared that humans have both an innate immunity and specific immunity that can be influenced by noise, and different exposure durations and intensities of noise may exert various effects on the immune system. For example, short-term or low-intensity noise can enhance immune function, while long-term or high-intensity noise suppresses it.

Depending on the frequency and vibrations of the sound, music can connect with different energy centers in your body. 

“When you’re using sound healing, it can range from anything from singing bowls and tuning forks, to frequencies and of course, the vibrations. With sound healing, we use it to bring about energetic changes in the body,” said Maurice Carroll, founder of Alkemmust Sound Healing.

In addition to being a sound healer, Carroll is also a producer and composer. He has been working with sound healing since 2008. His first experience with sound healing occurred when an artist he was working with used it in their music. From that moment, his interest was sparked. 

Much like other forms of therapy, sound healing is good for reducing stress, anxiety, alleviating depression, promoting tranquility and enhancing mental clarity. Carroll explained that there is no specific way to listen or participate in sound healing. 

“Take a moment and listen to some vibrations. Even if you’re not listening to music in a specific frequency, your intention of listening to something to help calm you down will still benefit your body,” said Carroll.

Caroll and his team have found sound healing’s benefits in all sorts of sounds and styles of music. The Alkemmust Sound Healing team explained that, because the main goal of the therapy is to improve people’s mental, spiritual and physical well being, any sound or style of music can be used for sound healing. 

“My life has an entire soundtrack. Music and sound is all around us and can be used in conjunction with other therapies,” said Michelle Shellers, a theremin player for Carroll’s live sound healing experiences. “There are sounds that are embedded that you don’t even hear, and frequencies that you don’t even notice. I love hearing rain, it’s very calming.” 

“Most people listen to music or sounds because it’s a good transition practice into the meditative lifestyle. It’s easier because it’s music that any and everybody can listen to,” Carroll said. 

“The sounds and the vibrations are easy to absorb. If you’re listening to jazz or pop or rap. Regardless of what genre you prefer, I can teach you how to meditate within that particular genre and the music that you’re already listening to.”

Sound healing is an artistic therapy often mistaken for a religious practice or thought to be associated with spirituality. Carroll explained that it can be used with other meditative methods, however that isn’t required. 

“A lot of people don’t realize that, for our people who are involved in religion already, sound healing happens. If you take organized religion, like the Abrahamic religions, they use music. There’s chanting, songs and instruments and all of those things become sound healing,” Carroll said.  

Letrice Gant is very familiar with the benefits of sound healing, as she uses it in her work with the Baltimore Peace Movement.

“We do sacred space rituals. Which consists of us praying in the space, holding space for people who’ve lost their physical lives to violence, connecting with those people and showing love and pouring positive energy and light into the community,” said Letrice Gant, deputy director of the Baltimore Community Mediation Center.

Gant is one of Carroll’s former sound healing students and uses sound healing in her work as a community activist and organizer. 

“The sound healing training that we went through was directly related to the Baltimore peace movement. Being intimately involved with the movement made me acutely aware of different healing modalities to help dispel toxic energy in the city,” Gant explained. 

“We bought sound healing instruments with the intention to go into spaces where people have either been murdered or harmed in Baltimore city or places where toxic energy has taken hold and to use those sound healing technologies to raise the vibrations in those places.” 

The post  AFRO inside look: The benefits of sound healing appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

Written by Taneasha White-Gibson

James Baldwin: The life story you may not know

James Baldwin was a prolific writer, poet, essayist, and civil rights activist. Though he spent much of his life abroad, he is undoubtedly an American writer, whose works serve as a prism through which to view Black American life. Apart from being an esteemed literary talent, Baldwin routinely participated in the necessary criticism of both the U.S. and Europe’s mistreatment of Black people and broached the then-taboo issue of same-gender love and sensuality long before any widespread queer liberation movement.

Even in death, Baldwin’s unabashed critique and truth-telling made him not only a guiding light for his time but for this generation and those to come. Several of his prescient works—”The Fire Next Time,” “Notes of a Native Son”—were as vital during the Civil Rights Movement as they are now, a legacy carried on through the incantation of Black Lives Matter protests in the streets to the Black American lexicon proliferating college classrooms today.

Some may know the author’s interest in the arts started in childhood, but surprisingly, his journey to becoming a luminary originated in the pulpit. Fueled by humble beginnings and a desire to speak truth to power even amid an era of unthinkable violence and injustice against Black Americans, the Harlem-born literary giant traversed the world—from Switzerland, Paris, and Istanbul—with his name seen on the cover of playbills, memoirs, and photo essays, hoping to gain enough distance from his homeland to write about it. “Once you find yourself in another civilization,” he once told an interviewer, “you’re forced to examine your own.”

In his honor, Stacker compiled 25 facts and moments about the author, activist, and intellectual James Baldwin, using Biography.com, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and various other sources.

Topical Press Agency // Getty Images

Born in 1924

James Arthur Baldwin was born to Emma Berdis Jones in Harlem, New York, on Aug. 2, 1924.

According to various accounts, his mother never shared details about his birth father—including his name. Jones later married David Baldwin, a minister, when young Baldwin was 3 years old.

CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

1938: Baldwin becomes a teen preacher

When he turned 14, the writer followed in his stepfather’s footsteps and became a teen preacher at Fireside Pentecostal Assembly during what he called a “prolonged religious crisis” in his 1963 nonfiction book “The Fire Next Time.”

Baldwin later left behind his adherence to Christianity, but his experiences at the church would inspire his 1953 novel “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”

Bettmann via Getty Images

Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen was his middle school teacher

During his middle school years, Baldwin was a student of Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen. The poet worked as a French teacher at Frederick Douglass Junior High, where Baldwin was a student, ultimately opening Baldwin’s eyes to Black literature. Baldwin later became the editor of his school’s newspaper and eventually wrote a profile of Harlem from the point of view of multiple generations.

Carl Van Vechten Collection // Getty Images

Mentored by Harlem Renaissance painter Beauford Delaney

At 16, Baldwin met painter Beauford Delaney, whom he regarded as a “spiritual father.” The artist would change Baldwin’s early conception that jazz was sinful, introducing him to the songs of Ella Fitzgerald and Bessie Smith. Delaney would also move to Paris five years after Baldwin, continuing their relationship. He later wrote that Delaney “was the first walking, living proof for me that a Black man could be an artist.”

William Cole // Getty Images

1942: Baldwin worked on a railroad after graduating high school

Despite an early interest in arts and literature, Baldwin was tasked with helping provide for his seven younger siblings, taking a job laying railroad tracks for the Army in New Jersey. While working, Baldwin experienced being refused service at restaurants and bars because of the color of his skin. He was soon fired, which led him to move to Greenwich Village.

CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

1944: Meets mentor Richard Wright by knocking on his door

Baldwin was introduced to his “literary father,” the late writer Richard Wright, after arriving unannounced at his front door. By this time, Wright had published “Native Son,” a tale of a Black man who accidentally kills a white woman and eventually rapes and murders his girlfriend while being pursued.

Wright read early versions of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and helped secure a fellowship for Baldwin, which kick-started his career. About four years later, however, Baldwin would write critical reviews of Wright’s “Native Son” for the literary magazine Zero while in Paris.

Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos // Getty Images

1948: Leaves for Paris after his best friend’s suicide

According to a 1984 interview with The Paris Review, Baldwin feared for his survival as a Black man in the U.S. “My luck was running out,” he said. “I was going to go to jail, I was going to kill somebody or be killed. My best friend had committed suicide two years earlier, jumping off the George Washington Bridge.”

Baldwin shared with The New York Times that this move enabled him to write more freely about his experience as a Black man in America, saying: “Once I found myself on the other side of the ocean, I could see where I came from very clearly. … I am the grandson of a slave, and I am a writer. I must deal with both.”

Bettmann // Getty Images

1953: Releases ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’

One of Baldwin’s first and more notable books, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” is a semi-autobiographical work about John Grimes, who grows up in 1930s Harlem under the influence of his Pentecostal minister stepfather. The novel covers the intersections of race, religion, and spirituality, paving the way for important conversations for which Baldwin’s later novels and essays would become synonymous.

Sophie Bassouls/Sygma via Getty Images

1954: Receives Guggenheim Fellowship

To aid in writing a new novel, Baldwin participated in the MacDowell writer’s colony residence in New England. During this time, he also won a Guggenheim Fellowship, both of which supported his later works.

Two years after accepting the Guggenheim Award, Baldwin published his second novel, “Giovanni’s Room,” which chronicles the struggle between race and sexuality and shows a character grappling between the love of a man and a woman all while navigating a white-dominated society.

Michael Ochs Archives // Getty Images

1955: Publishes ‘Notes of a Native Son’

Baldwin spoke about his admiration for Richard Wright’s 1940 book “Native Son,” which centers around race and the life of a Black man.

Following the success of his debut novel, Baldwin wrote “Notes of a Native Son”as an homage to the work. The collection of essays is a compilation of experiences surrounding race and social issues during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement.

In a New York Times review, esteemed Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes wrote of “Notes”: “Few American writers handle words more effectively in the essay form than James Baldwin. To my way of thinking, he is much better at provoking thought in the essay than he is arousing emotion in fiction.”

Sophie Bassouls/Sygma via Getty Images

1956: Publishes ‘Giovanni’s Room’

“Giovanni’s Room” received widespread acclaim and positive reception for exploring gay experiences, and many of Baldwin’s characters are within the LGBTQ+ community. This was years before the movement for queer liberation, and it proved groundbreaking. The book was a finalist for the 1957 National Book Award for fiction.

Bettmann // Getty Images

1957: Baldwin makes a trip to the South

After almost a decade out of the country, Baldwin returned to the United States amid the height of the Civil Rights struggle. He made a trip to the Deep South in 1957, which he later captured in “Letter from the South: Nobody Knows My Name” with the words, “Everywhere he turns … the revenant finds himself reflected.”

Bettmann // Getty Images

1961: Releases ‘Nobody Knows My Name’

While Baldwin was heavily involved in on-the-ground, behind-the-scenes efforts within the Civil Rights Movement, he utilized his literary talents and notoriety to speak on issues of Black folks in both the U.S. and in Europe. His book of essays, “Nobody Knows My Name,” compiles 23 works and earned the writer a spot on the shortlist for nonfiction at the 1962 National Book Awards.

Walter Daran/Hulton Archive // Getty Images

1962: Baldwin’s feature in The New Yorker prints

The New Yorker published an essay from the writer on Nov. 9, 1962, entitled “Letter from a Region in My Mind.” The essay, which begins from his musings as a 14-year-old in Harlem and traverses through his experiences in his stepfather’s church and the Nation of Islam, was later expanded into a book.

Marty Hanley/Bettmann // Getty Images

1963: Publishes ‘The Fire Next Time’

Originally a long-form article in The New Yorker, “The Fire Next Time”was published in 1963. Baldwin uses the two essays, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation” and “Down At The Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind,” to speak candidly about the state of racism within the U.S. and Christianity’s role in American society.

The work became a bestseller and has remained a staple within African American literature. American author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates called it “basically the finest essay I’ve ever read.”

Robert Elfstrom/Villon Films // Getty Images

1964: Makes Broadway debut with ‘Blues for Mister Charlie’

Baldwin’s first Broadway production, this play presented an honest depiction of oppression loosely based on the murder of Emmett Till in 1955. In its preface, Baldwin wrote: “What is ghastly and really almost hopeless in our racial situation now is that the crimes we have committed are so great and so unspeakable that the acceptance of this knowledge would lead, literally, to madness.”

Hulton Archive // Getty Images

Collaborates with Richard Avedon on ‘Nothing Personal’

Written as a tribute to his murdered friend, Civil Rights Movement leader Medgar Evers, Baldwin and his boyhood friend, American photographer Richard Avedon, created “Nothing Personal,” released in 1964.

Baldwin met Avedon while attending DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Avedon was one of the school’s literary magazine editors. The two fell out of touch after high school but reconnected when Avedon was commissioned to photograph Baldwin for Harper’s Bazaar and Life magazine. That shoot inspired “Nothing Personal,” which features photos from Avedon and 20,000 words from Baldwin.

Robert Abbott Sengstacke // Getty Images

Baldwin attends 1965 Selma to Montgomery march

Baldwin was largely involved in social justice throughout the 1960s and participated in the March on Washington and the following Selma to Montgomery march and actions in 1965.

He was close friends with Bayard Rustin, another openly gay Black man in the movement, and both were active behind the scenes due to the ongoing prejudices surrounding the LGBTQ+ communities.

Sophie Bassouls/Sygma via Getty Images

1965: ‘The Amen Corner’ opens on Broadway

Apart from authoring books, Baldwin was a talented playwright and used the stage to discuss racial issues. “The Amen Corner,” about a woman evangelist, was heavily influenced by Baldwin’s religious upbringing and first performed in New York City.

While New York Times reviewer Howard Taubman noted the play’s slow pace, he wrote that the production “has something to say. It throws some light on the barrenness of the lives of impoverished Negroes who seek surcease from their woes in religion.”

kpa // United Archives via Getty Images

1968: Begins drafting Malcolm X screenplay

Baldwin moved to Los Angeles after being hired to write the screenplay for a movie about Malcolm X. According to writer David Leeming’s 1994 book “James Baldwin: A Biography,” “The first treatment he composed was a manuscript of more than 200 pages that read more like a novel than a screenplay. Furthermore, his presence was disruptive, his working habits deplorable, and his lifestyle expensive.” To Baldwin, however, he was subjected to 16 months in a foreign land called Hollywood, where people did not speak his language.

Baldwin eventually left the project, though he published his script under “One Day When I Was Lost” years later. In 1992, Spike Lee adapted the script that Baldwin and, later, Arnold Perl worked on, which became the film “Malcolm X,” starring Denzel Washington.

Jack Sotomayor/New York Times Co. // Getty Images

Baldwin helped Maya Angelou get her first autobiography published

Depressed by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou was invited to a dinner by her friend Baldwin. Her storytelling skills impressed cartoonist Jules Feiffer and his wife, Judy, which resulted in an introduction to his editor, Robert Loomis. This, with a little behind-the-scenes counseling from Baldwin that got Angelou to agree to an autobiography, led to the release of her seminal 1969 book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

Sophie Bassouls/Sygma via Getty Images

1976: Releases ‘The Devil Finds Work’

Baldwin is known for his poetry and creative nonfiction, but he was also a renowned film critic. His book-length essay “The Devil Finds Work,” which The Atlantic called “the most powerful piece of film criticism ever written” in 2014, juxtaposes race within the U.S. and cinema, covering such films as “The Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” and “The Exorcist.”

Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

1983: Begins teaching at universities

While Baldwin continued to write until later in life, he also divided his time between teaching at the collegiate level—first at Hampshire College in 1983, then at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst—before returning to France in 1986.

At school, he became well known for his late-night discussions and drinks. He frequently remained awake even as his colleagues drifted to sleep, earning him his own time zone, called “Jimmy Time.”

Afro American Newspapers/Gado // Getty Images

1985: Investigates ‘The Evidence of Things Not Seen’

Between 1979 and 1981, at least 28 children, adolescents, and adults were killed in Atlanta. On assignment for Playboy, Baldwin wrote about these killings, known as the Atlanta child murders, in “The Evidence of Things Not Seen.” He writes about the racial aspect of the murders, for both the victims and the convicted assailant.

Ulf Andersen // Getty Images

Death

On Dec. 1, 1987, Baldwin died of stomach cancer at his home in southern France.

Before his passing, Baldwin was working on a piece called “Remember This House.” This unfinished memoir was a collection of his personal experiences with civil rights leaders, including his friends Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Nearly four decades later, this manuscript would serve as the basis for Raoul Peck’s 2016 documentary film “I Am Not Your Negro,” which took home the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 89th Academy Awards.

Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Paris Close.

The post James Baldwin: The life story you may not know appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

American Library Association reports a 20 percent increase in challenges in 2023

(NNPA Newswire) – The assault on Black history and that of other minority groups in the United States. has ramped up with the recent banning of certain books. The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has released alarming preliminary data indicating a significant surge in attempts to censor books, materials and services across public, school and academic libraries in the United States during the first eight months of 2023.

The American Library Association compiled crucial data on book challenges from reports filed by library professionals and news stories published nationwide. This year, between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, the association documented a staggering 20 percent increase in challenges, with 695 attempts to censor library materials and services. The challenges encompassed 1,915 unique titles, marking an escalation from the same period in 2022.

Books written by or about people of color or members of the LGBTQIA+ community are primary targets. Challenges within public libraries accounted for nearly half of documented cases, a sharp rise from 16 percent last year.

Rise in Multiple Title Challenges
What sets 2023 apart from previous years is the continued surge in simultaneous challenges to multiple titles. A staggering 92% of books challenged were part of attempts to censor multiple titles, compared to 90% in the first eight months of 2022. Cases involving challenges to 100 or more books were reported in 11 states, a significant increase from just six states during the same reporting period in 2022 and none in 2021. Previously, most challenges aimed to remove or restrict a single book. However, this year, a single challenge targeting multiple titles has become the predominant contributor to the rise in censorship attempts.

“These attacks on our freedom to read should trouble every person who values liberty and our constitutional rights,” said OIF Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone. “To allow a group of people or any individual, no matter how powerful or loud, to become the decision-maker about what books we can read or whether libraries exist is to place all of our rights and liberties in jeopardy.”
She further emphasized the expanding focus of groups with political agendas.

“Expanding beyond their well-organized attempts to sanitize school libraries, groups with a political agenda have turned their crusade to public libraries, the very embodiment of the First Amendment in our society,” Caldwell-Stone insisted. “This places politics over the well-being and education of young people and everyone’s right to access and use the public library.”
Public Cases of Censorship

To ALA documented several public cases of censorship:
• Samuels Public Library (Front Royal, Va.): A local pressure group called “Clean Up Samuels” organized book-banning BBQ events, intending to fill out Request for Reconsideration forms for library materials. Their efforts primarily targeted LGBTQIA+ materials, resulting in over 500 forms completed for nearly 150 unique titles. County board members, influenced by the group, voted to withhold 75 percent of the library’s budget until it took action to restrict access to certain books.
• Clinton (Tenn.) Public Library: In response to challenges to books related to gender identity and sexual orientation, the library board voted against creating a special section for such materials. Challenges persisted, with group members advocating for the censorship of LGBTQIA+ representation in library materials. They also called for the library director’s resignation and threatened community members who defended access to resources. In August, elected officials asked the sheriff to investigate whether 17 books violated Tennessee’s criminal obscenity laws.
• Urbandale (Iowa) Community School District: Officials flagged 374 books for removal from school libraries in response to a state law defining age-appropriate content. The list included titles addressing sex, sex education, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The list was revised to 65 books, with titles like “The Kite Runner” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” removed.
Call to Action and Banned Books Week
“The antidote to the contagion of censorship is public, vocal support for libraries,” said ALA President Emily Drabinski, who encouraged public support for libraries and for individuals to attend local school or library board meetings, participate in Banned Books Week initiatives, and join the Unite Against Book Bans campaign to combat censorship.
Banned Books Week 2023, scheduled for October 1–7, draws attention to attempts to remove books and materials from libraries, schools, and bookstores. Officials said the theme, “Let Freedom Read,” highlights the urgent need to defend the right to read and support the community of readers, library staff, educators, authors, publishers, and booksellers.

The post Book censorship on the rise in U.S. libraries appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

Special to the AFRO
Photos by AJ Johnson

Each year the Afropunk Festival offers a unique experience of Black culture. This year under the banner, “Circus of Soul,” the festival featured servings of music, film, fashion and art produced by alternative Black artists. The Afropunk Festival originated in 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.

The post Afropunk Festival offers unique glimpse of Black creativity appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum currently has their “Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined” exhibit on display. The multi-medium art display is highlighting the idea of Afro-futurism and the many pioneers who have helped shape the ever growing subculture.

Afro-futurism is dynamic and isn’t easily defined; however, its inability to be limited is what inspired the exhibit at the Lewis museum.

“We thought it was a really cool topic to begin to have people think with the perspective of not ‘what is happening to us’ but ‘what we can create for us’,”stated Terri Lee-Freeman, president of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. She added, “Afro-futurism is whatever you decide it is.”

The exhibit was curated by Myrtis Bedolla and was on display in Venice, Italy, before making its way to Baltimore in March of this year.

Freeman noted that Afro-futurism isn’t new. There have been many historical Black figures that were Afro-futurists because what they imagined for Black people seemed impossible during their lives.

“Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass were Afro-futurists because they believed in Black liberation, which was a very futuristic perspective when they were alive. There are so many people that we can think of, and these historic characters were actually focused on the future of Black people,” said Freeman.

The full exhibit that was on display in Venice has been scaled down to feature eight artists, including pieces from talents such as M. Scott Johnson, Tawny Chatmon, Larry Cook, Delita Martin and Felandus Thames. Through their art, guests have been encouraged to think beyond what people have known Black life and culture to be like both historically and currently.

While guests of the museum are imagining, there are some people that are living and practicing Afro-futurism as a way of life.

M. Scott Johnson

“Afro-futurism is the amalgamation of our Black footprint within this planet and beyond. It’s how we kind of interpret that through arts, science, music, technology and religion. is deeper than just a conversation, it is a full lifestyle and walking with your Blackness,” said DeNai “BFLY” Nixon.

Nixon is a local film producer and the co-founder of Blak Water production house. She and her husband, Kariz Marcel have been participating in the Afro-futurist lifestyle for nearly a decade. The two explained  how they incorporate Afro-futurism into different aspects of their lives.

“We incorporate Afro-futurism into our approach to fashion and we both incorporate very old and new things into our design aesthetic in general. We live as Afro-futurists to tap deeper into who we are as a people, and our abilities based upon what our past and history is,” said Marcel.” We reflect on how we’ve built so many things, and how it was natural for us to continue to build and combine time periods.”

Although Afro-futurism can be very complex, for some it’s as simple as Black people no longer being disadvantaged and breaking historical barriers that are thought to be everlasting. It is something that they as a people have to nurture today in order to see it grow tomorrow.

Freeman explained that Afro-futurism is based on what Black life and culture could look like. It’s a progressive movement that’s continuously pushing the boundaries on what Blackness is and the things that are associated with it.

“I believe that it is a look on what can be and it is not necessarily a current state. It’s about what the promise is. I think each person has to define it for themselves,” Freeman said. “ The future will be what we make it. It can be as wonderful as we want it to be but it’s going to take some effort, it’s not just going to happen.”

Nixon discussed the importance of Afro-futurism and how necessary it is in order to tell the many stories of the Black community.

“ because it gives us a broader sense of the way we lead in business, the way we can create community and the way we’re able to communicate our vast experience of God. It’s really important to connect the diasporic experience here and abroad,” Nixon said.

The “Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined” exhibit has been open since March of this year and will be on display until Sept. 5. In addition to the exhibit, an artist panel will take place on Aug. 19 at 2 p.m.

The post Reginald F. Lewis Museum exhibit highlights Afro-futurism movement appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Reginald Williams,
Special to the AFRO

A cadre of social justice organizations recently joined forces to present the inaugural “Our Struggle for Justice: A Day of Action” at the National Portrait Gallery.

According to the National Portrait Gallery, “Our Struggle for Justice is a digital collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery and Capital One that explores activism and social justice through biography.”

The three-hour event included a “Dress for Success” session, a women’s empowerment round table, and a criminal justice reform letter-writing workshop facilitated by Jason D. Fabrikant, interim director of American University’s School of Public Affairs (SPA) Leadership Program and senior professional lecturer with SPA Leadership students. The day also included tours of the Struggle for Justice Gallery and activities meant to encourage youth activism.

Our Struggle for Justice began as a social media campaign initiative in February 2021, using Instagram and Twitter to encourage activism. Members of the collective used the social media platforms to amplify their voices by telling their stories.

“We wanted to encourage activism and tell the story of activism through portraiture,” explained Irina Rubenstein, education specialist at the Portrait Gallery. “We have an exhibition called The Struggle for Justice, and it features leaders of the civil rights movement—different leaders of justice and social justice causes. We wanted to spark activism among young people, but really amongst everyone.”

Sponsored by Capital One, the Day of Action partnered with nine organizations, including Teaching for Change, a pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade educational non-profit organization based in the District. One of their programs, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice, supports and provides resources for those educators teaching outside the traditional textbook.

“Here in the D.C. area, we facilitate working groups in early childhood, elementary, and middle and high school groups, bringing educators from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia together to connect on curriculum,” explained NaKeesha Ceran, associate director for Teaching for Change. “We need people to support educators who won’t back down from teaching [the] truth.”

Art played a substantial role in the overall event. 

“Art is activism. Portraiture is powerful. And knowledge is empowerment,” Rubenstein explained. The event, emceed by The HEALACIST HipHopMomma Princess Best, included art pop-ups with local artists and music provided by DJ Adrian Loving.

Reginald Williams, the author of “A Marginalized Voice: Devalued, Dismissed, Disenfranchised & Demonized” writes on Black men and Holistic Health concerns. Please email bookreggie@reginaldwilliams.org or visit amvonlinestore.com for more information.

Help us Continue to tell OUR Story and join the AFRO family as a member –subscribers are now members!  Join here!  

The post National Portrait Gallery holds inaugural “Our Struggle for Justice: A Day of Action” event appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Tashi McQueen,
Report For America Corps Member,
Political Writer for The AFRO

America had a dilemma. Men were at war around the world- for a second time. It was hard enough trying to keep a country running- much less a country and multiple warfronts. 

A choice had to be made. Would they let their supply chain dry up? Could they lean on other countries for food and materials? No. In the end, they chose to draw on their most valuable resource- women. And not just White women, but Black and Brown women too. 

“Rosie the Riveter” became popular in 1943 when renowned artist Norman Rockwell was commissioned to create a work of art that would inspire American women to join the war front by working in factories at home. This interpretation of Rosie was firmly entrenched in the concept of women entering the workforce as a patriotic duty. 

“Rosie,” represents a tireless World War II assembly line worker. And though she is based on female munition workers, she is mostly a fictitious character. 

More than three million women took up jobs in defense plants, according to information released by the Library of Congress. 

About 600,000 African-American women fled oppressive and often demeaning jobs as domestics and sharecroppers. They chose instead to help build airplanes, tanks, and ships, fueling America’s “arsenal of democracy,” according to the National Association of Black Military Women (NABMW).

America’s entrance into World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 was met with pride and patriotism across the country. American citizens surged to enlist in all branches of the U.S. Military and women wanted to serve their country too.

“Prior to World War II, most Black women were either domestics or they were sharecroppers with farmers in the South, and sometimes they did double duty as sharecroppers, and then they worked in White folks’ homes as domestics,” said filmmaker Gregory S. Cooke in an interview with NABMW.

Cooke goes on to explain the totem pole of those called to serve. If White men were deferred due to job importance, then White women were chosen. If White women were not available, they picked Black men, and the last choice was Black women.

Many women did not get their jobs until 1944, the last full year of WWII. Mary McLeod Bethune, A. Philip Randolph, and Eleanor Roosevelt created pressure on then-president Roosevelt to sign an act that said any manufacturer that was getting government contracts for the war must hire people of color and women- leading to the 600,000 women that were employed.

Betty Reid Soskin and Lola Thomas are good examples of what Black “Rosie the Riveter” contributed. 

Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest ranger with the National Park Service (NPS), grew up in Oakland, Calif., after the “Great Flood” that devastated New Orleans in 1927. Her family followed the larger migration trends of the time, working train cars until the last stop and settling at the end of the line in the West– far away from the American South. She worked in a segregated hall during the war as a file clerk. 

Soskin worked with the NPS on a grant funded by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to uncover untold stories of African Americans on the homefront during WWII. This led to a temporary position working with the NPS at the age of 84. In 2007, Betty became a permanent NPS employee where she led public programs and shared her personal remembrances and observations at the park visitor center. She worked there until her retirement at age 100 in April 2022. She will be 101 years old in September.

“Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s great arsenal of democracy; it involved every man, woman, and child in the country,” said Soskin is an introduction video for the Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center in Richmond, Calif. “There were multiple stories on the home front, multiple stories.”

Lola Thomas was a Black woman who worked in a naval shipyard during World War II. In August 1942, African American newspapers reported that Mare Island had about 10 Black women working at the navy yard. Thomas was one of them. 

Photos of her at work show her smiling large and getting the job done– a great example of Black “Rosie” during World War II. 

Fast facts about women in the wartime industry from the National Association of Black Military Women (NABMW): 

• By 1944, 1 out of 5 defense workers was a woman who had recently been a student
• By 1944 1 out of 3 defense workers were former full-time homemakers
• World War II was the first time in U.S. history that married women outnumbered single women workers. 1
• The largest employers of women during World War II were airplane manufacturers such as Boeing Aircraft, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, and Douglass Aircraft Company. Other major employers included Chrysler, Goodyear, and Ford.
• Between 1940 and 1960 the number of working women doubled, rising from 15 percent of the workforce to 30 percent. Working mothers increased by 400.
• Most trade unions maintained separate seniority lists for men and women but by 1944 more than 3 million women made up 22 percent of all trade union membership in the U.S.
• A survey taken immediately after WWII by the Bureau of Women Workers revealed that 75 percent of women workers preferred to remain employed outside their homes
• By 1955, more women worked in the labor force than during World War II

Help us Continue to tell OUR Story and join the AFRO family as a member – subscribers are now members!  Join here! 

The post ‘Rosie the Riveter’ and the Black women who joined a movement appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.