Introducing Lela J. Sewell-Willams

Lela Johnson Sewell-Williams, is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in American History and Black Studies from South Carolina State University and her Master of Arts degree in American History with a concentration in Archives, Museums and Historical Editing from Duquesne University. Ms. Sewell-Williams resigned from her position as the Assistant Curator of Manuscripts within the Manuscript Division of Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University to found Preserve Your Story, an archival consulting firm, which identifies and fosters the preservation of historical materials with a specialized interest in the promotion of family, community, cultural and corporate records reflecting the African Diaspora. She is currently serving as the Dance Archivist and an adjunct professor within the Dance Major program at Howard University, Washington, D.C.

As a member of the professional history and cultural preservation communities, as well as a member of the African Diaspora, she has a vested interest in the preservation of the history and culture of those of African descent. Being a student of these professional and cultural communities has served as a catalyst toward her decision to pursue a career in the field of archival preservation. As the first archivist at South Carolina State University (a centennial Historical Black College and University), as well as serving as the project archivist for the Robert “Bob” Johnson Dance Collection (founder of the Pittsburgh Black Theater Dance Ensemble) has afforded her a diversity of opportunities to work with personal as well as organizational records and artifacts. Additionally, she served as a Manuscripts Librarian within the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Book division of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library located in Harlem, New York. While at the Schomburg Center Sewell-Williams served as the initiator and project archivist for the Center’s Hip-Hop Archive Project. These professional experiences have enabled the chance to develop, implement and apply archival polices and procedures. Through a collaboration of Moorland Spingarn Research Center and Howard University’s Dance department, Sewell-Williams has developed an initiative to collect the records of regional black dance companies and through the project has established a dance archive.

Intern at the Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library!

Archival Assistant (Contractual Position)

The Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library seeks an intern to serve as an Archival Assistant. The incumbent will assist with the arranging, describing, cataloguing, and preserving of historical manuscripts and photographs. The incumbent must be proficient in Microsoft Word. Experience in Past Perfect Museum software, library science, archival science, or African American history is preferred.

The Archival Assistant will work approximately 20 hours per week during the summer on a flexible schedule; the stipend is $2,500.00.

Please email your letter of interest, including availability, and resume to LWaller@goci.state.md.us by June 8, 2010.

Summer at the Banneker-Douglass Museum

Summer is quickly approaching which means it is time for the Banneker-Douglass Museum to switch to summer hours. What does this mean? Beginning Tuesday, June 1, 2010, through Labor Day weekend, the museum will be open on Sundays from 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. and on Thursdays until 7:00 p.m. The museum will also close to the public on Tuesdays.

Also, the museum will be closed on Friday, May 28 and Saturday May 29 for Memorial Day.

Here is the summer hours schedule which will run from Tuesday, June 1, 2010 through September 5, 2010.

Sunday:            1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Monday:          CLOSED
Tuesday:          CLOSED
Wednesday:     10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Thursday:         10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday:             10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Saturday:         10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Carr's and Sparrow's Beach Images Needed!

The Banneker-Douglass Museum Education Department has worked with the Annapolis High School African American history classes and the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation over the spring to document the people, places, and events connected to Carr's and Sparrow's Beaches on the Annapolis Neck Peninsula. Throughout the semester we have visited the former site of the beaches and interviewed attendees, performers, and employees of the beaches to uncover their history.

The result of our efforts will be a short documentary on the beaches told through the people who were there to the high school juniors and seniors. The documentary is in its final stages of production now and we need your help. We are looking for images from the beaches to be included in the documentary. The images can be of people, memorabilia, or location shots. The museum is more than happy to scan and/or photograph the objects if you can bring them to us.

We need the images very quickly - no later than this Thursday, May 27! If you have images and/or objects you are willing to share, please contact Genevieve Kaplan, Education & Public Programs Manager, at 410.216.6186 or at GKaplan@goci.state.md.us.

Thanks!

African American Heritage Preservation Grants Announced

Governor Martin O’Malley today signed into law a bill that establishes the African American Heritage Preservation Program to identify and preserve buildings, communities and sites of historical and cultural importance to the African American experience in Maryland. The program will be administered as a joint partnership of the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) and the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC).

“The heritage preservation program will help restore a multi-cultural landscape while capturing the uniqueness of Maryland’s rich and diverse history and stimulating increased dialogue among individuals, groups, and sites,” said Commission Chair, Theodore Mack.

Governor O’Malley was joined at the bill signing ceremony by Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Speaker of the House Michael Busch and sponsor of the bill, Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller.

“This program provides us with a new opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the State's communities and to tell the story of the African American experience in Maryland for the benefit of residents and visitors alike,” said Maryland Department of Planning Secretary Richard E. Hall.

The African American Heritage Preservation Program also provides support for the acquisition, construction, and capital improvement of buildings and communities of importance to the history of African Americans in Maryland. This competitive program, offered once per year, is supported through an annual appropriation from the Maryland General Assembly. The legislation requires the Governor to include $1,000,000 in the annual capital budget submission for the program for specified fiscal years. Grant awards generally range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $100,000.

For assistance in the development of project scope and purpose, contact Dr. Joni Jones, (MCAAHC) at (410) 216-6180. For assistance with capital project and technical preservation issues, contact Michael Day (MHT) at (410) 514-7629.

Application materials for the upcoming grant round will be available in the coming weeks, pending the approval of the final program regulations.

The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture serves as the statewide clearinghouse for preserving evidence of and documenting the African American experience in Maryland. It specializes in the collection and preservation of historical materials: art objects, memorabilia, manuscripts, photographs, and other articles of significance to African American history and culture. For the community at large and Maryland educational systems and institutions, the Commission provides exhibits, programs, and resource materials.

The Maryland Historical Trust is a state agency dedicated to preserving and interpreting the legacy of Maryland’s past. Through research, conservation and education, the Trust assists the people of Maryland in understanding their historical and cultural heritage. The Trust is an agency of the Maryland Department of Planning and serves as Maryland’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
 
Click here for more information including eligibility requirements, application process, and timelines.
 
Click here for information on available grants from the Maryland Historical Trust.

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!