Black Watermen of the Chesapeake Public Viewing and Quilting Session

Come join the Banneker-Douglass Museum, Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither, and the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation for two public quilting sessions surrounding the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt. Dates, times, and locations may be found to the right of this posting. The quilt documents the lives of people living and working on the Chesapeake Bay. The sessions this weekend are a follow up to two very popular sessions held last weekend in Annapolis. A total of 180 people came out last weekend to participate and we anticipate even larger crowds this weekend.

To learn more about the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt or Dr. Gaither and her other works, please visit http://www.joangaither.com/.

The Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library Celebrates Its 2nd Anniversary

On Saturday, November 7, 2009, the staff of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, along with business and community leaders, and members of the Annapolis community came together to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of the Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library. The program began with a prayer by Rev. Hunt, the founder and pastor of the Grace of God Outreach Ministries in Baltimore, Maryland. Following the invocation, the audience, led by Denise Strothers, a recording artist, sang Lift Every Voice and Sing, the African American National Anthem. The staff of the Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library dedicated a poem, My First Memory (of Librarians), written by Nikki Giovanni, to the library's namesake, Sylvia Gaither Garrison. Then, the business and community leaders dramatically read the writings of such literary giants as Frederick Douglass, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Robert Hayden, Dudley Randall, Margaret Walker, Benjamin Banneker, and others. Betty Coleman, president of Friends of the Banneker-Douglass Museum and a board member of the Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation, ended the event with a stirring reading of a poem entitled Harriet Tubman, written by Margaret Walker.

African Art

AFRICAN ART COLLECTION, Late 19th and 20th Century

Collection includes tools, ceremonial objects, textiles, weapons, personal items, and cooking implements. Artifacts were acquired by purchase and donation from African Art dealers. Objects are representative of the major cultural groups among enslaved Africans in the Chesapeake region. Ceremonial objects include masks worn during initiation rites from Guro, Senufo, and Buale peoples of the Ivory Coast. There are Granary doors from Dogon, and Yakuba or Dan rice spoons. Textiles include kente cloth, mud cloth, and indigo dyed cloth. Decorated tools and personal items include an Ashanti or Buale cosmetic pouch, weaving pulleys, combs, and utility stools.

Wood Ceremonial Doll with leather and beading
1991.01.0003

Holiday Partying at the BDM

Planning a party this holiday season? Why not consider holding your event at the Banneker-Douglass Museum? The BDM can hold 300 people for a standing reception and 150 for theater-style seating. And, of course, the grand historic atmosphere comes free of charge. If you are interested, please contact Jeffrey Greene, Chief of Operations: (410) 216-6180

Public quilting sessions

Beginning next week, Dr. Joan Gaither, the creator of the Journey to the White House quilt that was on display at BDM from January through September of this year, will take her latest quilt on the road inviting anyone interested to add stitches and messages to the quilt.

The quilt, entitled Black Watermen of the Chesapeake, documents African American life on the Chesapeake Bay through images and text. It highlights the men and women who dedicate themselves to the Chesapeake Bay whether it be through working as watermen, living in communities that support activities attached to the Bay, environmental issues, and much much more. While titled Black Watermen of the Chesapeake, the quilt is not only for and/or about the black watermen. It is for anyone and everyone who has had an experience on the Chesapeake Bay.

Dr. Gaither is inviting the public to come and share their Chesapeake Bay experiences on this quilt as a way to help document the many stories of life on the Chesapeake. People may participate by adding stitches and messages to the quilt, sharing stories on video or writing them down, helping identify people important to African American life on the Chesapeake Bay, or bringing photographs of their experiences of the Chesapeake Bay for possible inclusion on the quilt.

If you would like to participate in this project, check out the dates of the public quilting sessions to the right of this posting. For more information, contact the Banneker-Douglass Museum Education Department at 410.216.6180 or email BDMPrograms@goci.state.md.us.

For more information on Dr. Gaither's work, please visit http://obamacommunityquilt.blogspot.com/.

For more information on the African American life on the Chesapeake, please visit http://blackschesapeake.org/