MCAAHC-Meeting Reminder--May 3, 2010

The next meeting of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture is Monday, May 3 at 10am at the American Legion Post 77--102 Glenwood Avenue, Easton, MD 21601in Easton MD. Agenda highlights include a multiagency presentation by the Maryland Office of Tourism Development, the Department of Natural Resources, and the counties of Dorchester and Caroline about Harriet Tubman commemorative projects. There will also be a discussion of the proposed African American Heritage Preservation grant program.

Reservations are encouraged, but not required. To make a reservation or to be added to the agenda, please contact Genevieve Kaplan by May 2 at: 410-216-6186 or GKaplan@GOCI.state.md.us.

Free. The public is invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.

The mission of the MD Commission on African American History and Culture is to discover, document, preserve, collect, and promote Maryland’s African American heritage. The Commission also provides technical assistance to institutions and groups with similar objectives. Through the accomplishment of this mission, the MCAAHC seeks to educate Maryland citizens and visitors to our state about the significance and impact of the African American experience in Maryland.

Dr. Dorothy Height

Dr. Dorothy Irene Height - March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010

Dorothy Height, civil rights activist, died Tuesday at the age of 98. Height had been staying at Howard University Hospital for some time. Height had been a longtime activitist for equality and civil rights. She rallied, marched and supported several icons including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1957, Height became the President of the National Council of Negro Women and held that position until 1997. In 1994, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton.

The late activist C. DeLores Tucker once called Height an icon to all African-American women. “I call Rosa Parks the mother of the civil rights movement,” Tucker said in 1997. “Dorothy Height is the queen.”

In a statement, Obama called her "the godmother of the civil rights movement" and a hero to Americans. "Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality ... and served as the only woman at the highest level of the civil rights movement — witnessing every march and milestone along the way," Obama said. Vice President Joe Biden said Height was one of the first people to visit him when he first took his seat in the Senate in 1973. "She remained a friend and would never hesitate to tell me or anybody else when she thought we weren't fighting hard enough," he said.

The recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and other awards, she was accorded a place of honor on the dais on Jan. 20, 2009, when Barack Obama took the oath of office as the nation’s 44th president. Ms. Height was the author of a memoir, “Open Wide the Freedom Gates” (Public Affairs, 2003), with a foreword by Maya Angelou. The New York Times Book Review called the book “a poignant short course in a century of African-American history.”

Ms. Height was born in Richmond, Va. The family moved to the Pittsburgh area when she was 4. In her memoir, she recalled marching as a teenager in Times Square in an anti-lynching rally. She went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New York University and did postgraduate work at Columbia University and the New York School of Social Work.

Ms. Height, who never married, was a longtime resident of Washington. She is survived by a sister, Anthanette Aldridge of New York City.

Dr. Benjamin Hooks

January 31, 1925 – April 15, 2010
Dr. Hooks, who led of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for 16 years, died Thursday at the age of 85.Hooks was unanimously elected president of NAACP in 1977. To take the position, Hooks resigned as a commissioner on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. He was the first black to have served as a member of the FCC. He worked to improve black’s image, and employment and ownership opportunities on radio and television.
The progressive leader of the NAACP played an important role in many battles in Washington. Amoung them is his lead in the historical Prayer Vigil in 1979, which was instrumental in defeating in Congress the Mott anti-busing amendment. He also lobbied enough votes in Congress for passage of the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Bill.
A lawyer by profession, Hooks was the first black judge in the Shelby County Criminal Court in Tennessee. Hooks was born in Memphis to a middle-class family. He studied as LeMoyne College in Memphis and at Howard University in Washington, DC. In 1948, he received his law degree from DePaul University. “He’s had an amazing career,” said Julian Bond, a former head of the Atlanta branch of the N.A.A.C.P. “Judge, F.C.C. commissioner, minister of churches in two different cities at the same time, businessman, head of the N.A.A.C.P. Most people do one or two things in their lifetimes. He’s just done an awful lot.”Mr. Hooks was also an inspirational leader whose oratory was reminiscent of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which had Mr. Hooks as one of its board members. Mixing quotations from Shakespeare or Keats with the cadence and idioms of his native Mississippi Delta, Mr. Hooks thrilled his largely black following in his speeches. “There is a beauty in it and a power in it,” Mr. Hooks once said of his and other black preachers’ speaking style.In 2007, President George W. Bush presented Mr. Hooks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

Ladies Hats and Tea

This past weekend the Banneker-Douglass Museum co-hosted one of its most anticipated events of the year - the annual Ladies Hats and Tea. This event first started in 2007 as a one-time program to coincide with the exhibition Trails, Tracks, Tarmac and was so well received it was brought back as an annual event. Partnering with the Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center and the Northern Arundel Cultural Preservation Society, Inc., the museum has offered the event each March as a tribute to Women's History Month.

This event brings out hats of all shapes, sizes, and designs. There are always at least a few historical hats or hats passed down from family members. Some are very colorful and/or well embellished while others are simple and understated. It is always interesting to see what hats will appear at the event.

During the Hats and Tea, the audience is treated to multiple speakers and performances. The 2010 Hats and Tea was themed Changing Perspectives. To go along with the theme, the planning committee asked attendees to consider how they can change the life of a young person. The audience was treated to singing, a saxophone solo, liturgical dance, and hand dancing all performed by young community members. Additionally we had two guest speakers - Master Chief Evelyn Banks from the United States Naval Academy and the First Lady of Maryland, Judge Katie O'Malley. Both women spoke about the role of women throughout history up to today and how women will shape the future.

Calls for the 2011 Hats and Tea are already coming in. Information about the 2011 Ladies Hats and Tea will appear on the museum's website later this year or early next year. If you would like to help plan next year's tea or participate, please contact us at BDMPrograms@goci.state.md.us.

A Giant Has Fallen

Simply put, Lucille Clifton is a poetic giant. She was the first African American poet laureate of Maryland, serving in this capacity from 1979-1985. On the dawn of the 21st century, she won the National Book Award for Blessing the Boats. She was also awarded the prestigious Ruth Lily Poetry Prize, the Lannan Literary Award, and many others. In addition to the numerous awards received, she served as a chancellor of the American Academy of Poets as well as a member of the Board of Governors for thePoetry Society of America.

This April, during National Poetry Month, the Poetry Society of America had planned to give Mrs. Clifton the coveted Centennial Frost Medal for her decades of poetic excellence. However, due to her untimely death, the awards ceremony will become a tribute to Mrs. Clifton and her art. The ceremony will take place on April 1, 2010 at the National Arts Club in New York at 7pm. For more information on the tribute, please consult the Poetry Society of America's website: http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/events/#share.

Photo by Rachel Eliza Griffith

Curator Corner

THOMAS R. BADEN COLLECTION, 1939-1974

Thomas R. Baden (1908-1974), a native Annapolitan, developed his interest in photography into a role of documenting African American life in Annapolis. “Tommy B,” as he was known in the community photographed African American social and community events for over forty years. His collection contains over 3,000 photograph prints, negatives and darkroom equipment donated by his daughter, Barbara Baden-Bentley. Bentley also served as a devoted Commissioner of Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture.

Seneca Village Family Art Program

Last Saturday’s Seneca Village Family Art Program was great fun. Artists Leslie King-Hammond and José J. Mapily helped us create our own artwork based on their sculpture, Celestial Praise House for Seneca Village, which is the focal point of the exhibition, The Seneca Village Collaboration. The works will be added to the exhibit, which run through May 1, 2010.

Come join us for the next family art program, where we will make medicine bottles and power packs. It’s April 10, 2010 from 10:30 to noon. Registration is encouraged: 410.216.6180 or BDMPrograms@goci.state.md.us

Events This Weekend

Happy Friday!

I just wanted to let people know that in light of the massive weather events this past week, the Banneker-Douglass Museum will be closed today and tomorrow (12-13 February). The scheduled programs for last weekend and this weekend are rescheduled for later dates.

The Seneca Village Collaboration Family Art Program scheduled for 6 February is now set for 27 February at 10:30 a.m.

The Morgan State University Choir concert at Four Winds Performing Arts Center is rescheduled for 8 May.

The Back to Africa? book signing with author Charles Nelson will be rescheduled for a date in the spring.

Celestial Praise for Seneca Village

The Celestial Praise House for Seneca Village opened on January 16, 2010, just in time for Black History Month. The exhibit features a sculpture, which represents Seneca Village, created by Jose' J. Mapily and Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, two distinguished Maryland-based artists and educators.

What is Seneca Village? Seneca Village was a 19th century predominately African American community situated between 82nd and 89th Streets and Seventh and Eighth Avenues in New York. It was the first time African Americans owned property in 19th century New York. However, due to New Yorkers deep desire for a public park, the state legislature seized their land via eminent domain, turning their residential dream into a nightmare, making it the last African American residential community in New York during the 19th century. Soon after this action was taken, their homes, churches, cemeteries, and a school were razed to make way for the construction of Central Park.

The sculpture, which is the centerpiece of the exhibit, honors their determination to empower themselves economically and politically, an African American man had to own $250 worth of property in order to vote. In addition, the sculpture developed by King-Hammond and Mapily serves to pay deep homage to the residents faith and hope for a better life in a city which abolished slavery shortly after they began to reside in Seneca Village. Adding more symbolism to the sculpture, Mapily designed the celestial praise house to hover over the symbolic village, projecting the faith, hope, and love the residents had to have as their fellow Americans razed their dream.

As you can see, the sculpture says a lot about African American life in Seneca Village during the 19th century. But there is only one way to experience it: by visiting the Banneker-Douglass Museum. Come and explore how the history of Seneca Village inspired and influenced two highly skilled artists to create an exquisite work of art.

Pictured from left to right: Museum Patron, Jose' J. Mapily, Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, Commissioner Anita Neal Powell, Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation Treasurer Linda Simms, Aris T. Allen, Jr., and Banneker-Douglass Museum Volunteer Richard Everett.

Photo by Amelia Harris

African American History Tours of Annapolis

One of the most frequent requests I receive in February deals with African American history tours in Annapolis. This year I am pleased to announce the Banneker-Douglass Museum is working with Watermark Tours and will be the final stop on their African American Heritage Tour. This tour, run in partnership with the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation is a two hour walking tour of Annapolis highlighting key historical sites including the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial and the Thurgood Marshall Memorial.

The tour will be offered every Saturday in February beginning on 6 February 2010. Tours depart from the Information Booth at City Dock at 1:00 p.m. every Saturday and run two hours. Reservations are required and be aware you will need to bring a photo id along with you.

Tour prices are as follows:
$16.00 Adults
$10.00 Children 3-11
Free Ages 2 & Under

To purchase tickets, visit Watermark's website at http://www.watermarkjourney.com/ or you can purchase them from your guide at prior to the tour. For more information call 410.216.7600 or visit the African American Heritage Tour page on their website.

Don't forget to come into the museum at the end of your tour to see our new exhibitions which opened 2 weeks ago!

New Program Calendar Available

The Banneker-Douglass Museum February-March 2010 program calendar is now available. Check it out at www.bdmuseum.com.

Upcoming programs include:

6 February 2010 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
The Seneca Village Collaboration Praise House Art Program with Leslie King-Hammond and José J. Mapily

13 February 2010 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Back to Africa? Book Discussion and Author Signing with Charles Nelson

13 February 2010 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Morgan State University Choir Concert at the Four Winds Performing Arts Center

20 February 2010 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Banneker-Douglass Museum Family Tour

26 February 2010 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Music through the Ages Community Concert at Annapolis High School

27 February 2010 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Picturing the Promise: Making Photo and Memory Quilts with Dr. Joan Gaither at the Lamond-Riggs Public Library, Washington, DC hosted by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

6 March 2010 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Race Women, Race Man lecture by Dr. Sharon Harley, Chair of the African American Studies Program, University of Maryland, College Park

13 March 2010 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
The Science of Genealogy: DNA Testing with Gene-All-Of-Us founder Lyndra Marshall and Gina Paige, President of African Ancestry, Inc.

19 March 2010 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Genealogy Resource Fair at Sojourner-Douglass College hosted by the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation

20 March 2010
Maryland Day celebration at the Banneker-Douglass Museum

27 March 2010 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
3rd Annual Ladies Hats and Tea: Changing Perspectives

PORTRAITS OF COURAGE

A new exhibition at Banneker-Douglass showcases eight of Maryland’s African American heroes. The men and women depicted in these portraits represent African American achievement throughout Maryland’s state history in the fields of science, law publishing, politics, and civil rights activism. The portraits, six by Hughie Lee-Smith: Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall, Harriet Tubman, John H. Murphy, and Lillie Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall, Harriet Tubman, John H. Murphy, and Lillie, Carroll Jackson. Also included are the portraits of Herbert M. Frisby by Oliver Patrick Scott, and Nathaniel Gibbs’ painting of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And the portrait of Herbert M. Frisby by Oliver Patrick Scott, and Nathaniel Gibbs’ painting of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are also representative of the mission of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, which strives to preserve the legacy of African Americans such as those presented here.
The portraits are closely tied to the history of the Banneker-Douglass Museum. The Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation, Inc. commissioned the Banneker, Douglass, and Marshall portraits in 1976, its first year of existence; the unveiling of the Tubman, Murphy and Jackson portraits marked the 1984 opening of the museum in the former Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church. The Frisby portrait is part of a major research Collection documenting Frisby’s Arctic exploration; and the King portrait is part of the museum’s holding of materials documenting the Civil Rights Movement. By exhibiting these portraits, we want to commemorate and celebrate the accomplishments of these individuals. The Banneker-Douglass Museum and the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture mission is to educate, document, and display the courage of each of the displayed Marylanders in achieving their goals. The exhibit will be open from January 16, 2010 until June 26, 2010.

Martin Luther King Weekend 2010

This weekend will be a busy one for the Banneker-Douglass Museum. We are opening three new exhibits, hosting an exhibition opening reception, participating in an MLK Day Volunteer Day event, and partnering on a concert.

As a heads up, the museum itself will be closed on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day which is Monday, January 18, 2010. Construction work will be taking place throughout the weekend to repair the roof and we can't have any visitors in the building. There are still plenty of museum-sponsored activities going on this weekend throughout Annapolis even if the building itself isn't open. I hope you can join us for at least one of the festivities listed below.

Celestial Praise House for Seneca Village Exhibition

Opening Reception and Artist Talk

Saturday, 16 January 2010

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Location: Banneker-Douglass Museum, 84 Franklin St., Annapolis, MD, 21401

Free of charge and open to all ages.

Registration encouraged.

For more information, call 410.216.6180 or email BDMPrograms@goci.state.md.us.

Join artists Leslie King-Hammond and José J. Mapily for the Maryland debut of their artwork Celestial Praise House for Seneca Village. This large-scale plexiglass and beaded artwork depicts a portion of Seneca Village, an African-American settlement in New York’s Central Park. Meet the artists and learn how this amazing artwork was created.

The focal point of this exhibit is a commemorative sculpture by Maryland–based artists Leslie King-Hammond and José J. Mapily called Celestial Praise House for Seneca Village. The piece documents a nineteenth century settlement founded by African Americans and later displaced by New York City’s Central Park, the first urban landscaped park in the United States. This artwork was designed as part of the exhibition Legacies: Contemporary Artists Reflect on Slavery at the New York Historical Society in 2006.

In addition to the Celestial Praise House for Seneca Village piece, several never before seen artifacts from the collections of the Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library and the Banneker-Douglass Museum will be on display to highlight the lives of African Americans in Maryland during Seneca Village’s existence. Such objects will include manumission papers from Anne Arundel County, Allegany County, and Howard County; free-born African American verification papers; a receipt from a slave sale in Anne Arundel County; and first edition copies of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 2010

Monday, 18 January 2010

11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Location: Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center, 1101 Smithville St., Annapolis, MD, 21401

Free.

Registration encouraged.

Open to all ages. Participants 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information or to register, call 410.897.9207 or email Fay Mauro at Fay@volunteerannearundel.org.

To make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a “Day On, Not a Day Off,” the Banneker-Douglass Museum is joining with the Volunteer Center for Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel Conflict Resolution Center, Boys and Girls Clubs of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Stanton Center and the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture to offer volunteer opportunities throughout the city of Annapolis. Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2010 by participating in one of several volunteer opportunities including helping with youth activities at the Bates Boys and Girls Club, making school and family program materials for the Banneker-Douglass Museum, and helping to create a community collage on volunteering in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. Come meet representatives from many organizations around the area and learn how you can volunteer throughout the year.

Mavis Staples Performs at the Ram's Head On Stage for Martin Luther King Day

Monday, 18 January 2010

8:00 p.m.

Location: Rams Head On Stage, 33 West St., Annapolis, MD, 21401

$65.00 per person

To purchase tickets, visit http://tickets.ramsheadonstage.com.

For more information, call the Rams Head On Stage at 410.268.4545.

In the 1960's Mavis Staples was at the center of the civil rights movement with her family band The Staple Singers. Through message songs like Why am I Treated So Bad? and March up Freedom Highway, Mavis became one of the strong voices of the movement. On January 18, Martin Luther King Day, Mavis will perform many of the freedom songs that she made famous then and now at a special show at Rams Head On Stage. Staples, often marched and performed with Dr. King and throughout her 40-year music career, has continued her message of equality and respect in her music. This performance is anticipated to be a very special one.

Mavis will be backed by her band that recently recorded the album Live: Hope At The Hideout with her. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the upcoming GRAMMYs--the first GRAMMY nomination Mavis has received for a solo project (she had a few for The Staples Singers and compilations and guest turns.) The Chicago Sun Times says of her performance on the album "Anyone who was hearing this American treasure in concert for the first time learned precious lessons about where we have been and where we are today."

Milestones--2009

This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Banneker-Douglass Museum. We’ve celebrated with two galas (thank you Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation, and the team of Governor Martin O’Malley, Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and the Legislative Black Caucus), three exhibits, and a documentary. But 2009 holds special significance for the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) as well. The MCAAHC originated in 1969 as the Maryland Commission on Negro History and Culture, by a state bill introduced into the state legislature by Senator Verda Freeman Welcome, America's first African American female state senator. The Commission plans to celebrate this milestone at its next public meeting on December 15, 2009 at M&T Bank stadium. The public is invited to attend this event, which will last from 1:30-4pm.

And finally, 2009 marks the 135^th anniversary of the main building itself. The site began as Mt. Moriah African Methodist Episcopal Church. It served as a house of worship for nearly a century. When the congregation relocated to Bay Ridge Avenue, the purchaser planned to demolition the building. Want to know more? Then come on by!

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/.