Connecting People with Art since 1985
Mayor of Philadelphia Edward Rendell, PA State Senator Vincent Hughes,
Congressman Chaka Fattah, October Gallery’s Mercer A. Redcross III,
Artists – Charles Bibbs, Gilbert Young, Michael Brown, Steven Johnson,
Tom McKinney, Colin Thompson, Cal Massey, Bob Jefferson and a host of others.
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Take a day and enjoy San Francisco’s rich African American heritage.
On any given day, there is much to celebrate about African American culture in San Francisco, and if you time your visit, you might have the added experience of enjoying special activities during Black History Month, the annual Juneteenth celebration, the highly regarded AfroSolo theater festival and any number of Afrocentric events.
San Francisco is filled with places to ponder and reflect on its very own rich African American ancestry, which can be found in the unlikeliest places – if only you know where to look. The following one-day itinerary offers a glimpse into the City’s black culture.
When the wake up call comes this morning, enjoy your morning stroll around Yerba Buena Gardens, located between Third and Fourth and Mission and Howard streets. If you are in the financial district, pass by Leidesdorff Street which runs parallel between Montgomery and Sansome, from Pine to Washington. This short street is named after one of the City’s pioneers, William Alexander Leidesdorff. An African American originally from the Virgin Islands, Leidesdorff sailed into San Francisco in 1841 and became a prominent businessmen and vital politico, building the City’s first hotel.
You’ll know you have reached your destination when the sounds of falling water lure you into a manicured garden, toward the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Enjoy warm croissants or bagels you picked up at one of the local bakeries along the way as the 22-foot-high waterfall cascades past the floating bridge and 12 engraved glass panes with quotes by Dr. King. Exit the park at Third and Mission where you will see the home of the Museum of the African Diaspora which features exhibits of local and international black history. MoAD opened on the ground level of the St. Regis Hotel, in December 2005. As you walk south down Third Street toward AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants, pause to look up at a large painting by noted artist Raymond Saunders on the St. Regis tower.
Even if the Giants are on the road or in the off-season, baseball fans can take a behind-the-scenes-tour of the waterfront park. Even non-sports fans will appreciate the entrance: Willie Mays Plaza is home to 24 (his jersey number) palm trees and a nine-foot bronze sculpture of the African American Hall of Fame center fielder. Stroll along McCovey Cove into China Basin park and view the larger-than-life statue of another living legend: Willie McCovey. If you have time, take in a game. You might just see Tim Lincecum pitch a no-hitter.
At this point, you’re not far from a connection to the T-Third line which provides light rail service to the growing communities along Third Street which include Mission Bay as well as Dogpatch, one of San Francisco’s 11 historic districts, Bayview, Hunters Point and Visitacion Valley. Located at 4705 Third St., the Bayview Opera House, built in 1888, was the first opera house built for San Francisco and the only theater to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire. Today it is a neighborhood cultural center.
If your culture day happens to fall on Sunday, be sure to spend time in one of the City’s celebrated churches. Glide Memorial United Methodist Church is praised nationally for its progressive community projects, and visitors will find a truly multi-cultural choir that “shakes the walls and raises the spirit.” The Saint John Coltrane African American Church emphasizes music as a medium to worship, while the Third Baptist Church, founded during the Gold Rush, was the first Black Baptist church west of the Rockies.
If you catch a cab or drive, a brief stop at the corner of Bush and Octavia is in order. A tribute to Mary Ellen Pleasant – a former slave who became a successful local businesswoman and a crucial chain in the Underground Railroad – lies on the southwest corner, at the site of her former home. This is also close to one of the city’s other historic districts: Bush Street Cottage Row. Be sure not to miss the African American Art and Culture Complex (AAACC) at Fulton and Webster, with its celebrated Dewey Crumpler mural. AAACC is also home to the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society Museum, which is packed with African and African American artwork, artifacts and exhibitions, including that of Pleasant and Leidesdorff.
A trip out to Fort Point National Historic Site at the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge is well worth the trek. Not only is the scene of the San Francisco Bay breathtaking from this vantage point but this is also the site of a permanent exhibit of the African American soldier’s experience from 1776 through present-day. Now it’s time to get back to the hotel and get ready for a night on the town. Tonight will be spent meandering one of our great neighborhoods: the Fillmore. You won’t be at a loss for dining or music options in the Fillmore Jazz Preservation District. The area boasts several venues including the second Bay Area location of famed jazz club Yoshi’s and 1300 on Fillmore where chef David Lawrence combines classic French cooking with southern style touches. Diners on select Sundays can also enjoy the gospel brunch.
San Francisco’s majestic City Hall is located at One Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, named for the late civil rights leader and one of the founders of The Sun-Reporter, is opposite the Main Library, 100 Larkin St., which houses The African American Center. Located on the third floor it includes an extensive collection exploring the African American experience and is a vital link in the African American History Network, an online connection between the San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society.
Your nightcap will be at the Top of the Mark, on the 19th floor of the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco with an unrivaled view of the City. But that’s not the only breathtaking sight here. Ask to see the Room of the Dons and take a look at the 1926 mural of Queen Califia, the mythical black queen from whom the state of California takes its name. Sleep soundly tonight; it’s been a long, learned day.
To find out more about San Francisco’s African American heritage, please view our press release titled “Diverse San Francisco: African American“
The African American Museum in Philadelphia will focus in on one of the most pivotal moments in American history with the 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story. This traveling exhibit chronicles the heroic stand of Rosa Parks through her arrest and the bus boycott that followed. Developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with the Troy University Rosa Parks Library and Museum, and generously underwritten by AARP, the exhibit explores these crucial, historic events, which ignited the national Civil Rights Movement.
Parks’ arrest on Dec. 1, 1955, the catalyst for Montgomery’s citizens to take action, is only a fraction of the story. 381 Days examines the contributions and dedication of Montgomery’s black community, which made the boycott successful. Four days after Parks’ arrest, 50,000 people united for a one-day boycott of city buses. Following its massive success, organizers formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), electing a young Martin Luther King Jr. as its president, and devised a strategy of grassroots organization and legal challenges that eventually broke the city’s ability to maintain segregated buses after 380 more days of the boycott.
“The installation of 381 Days helps to round out the overall experience here at AAMP”, commented AAMP President & CEO Romona Riscoe Benson. “Our core exhibition Audacious Freedom provides insight into what was essentially our nation’s first civil rights movement. 381 Days expands that experience from a modern day perspective. Additionally we will add a local focus to the exhibit with the inclusion of photos by Philadelphia native Jack T. Franklin, one of the nation’s most prolific photographers of the civil rights struggle in America.”
Through a modernist collage of photographs, political cartoons, contemporary writings, and other text and images, 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story bears witness to a challenge met. The challenges of a people—black and forward-thinking whites, young and old—joined in boycott by hope, by courage, by self-respect. In its wake, the tenets of a nonviolent approach to political and social change matured into a weapon of equality for all Americans, no matter race, color, or gender. 381 Days examines the impact of the boycott’s success across the country and around the world. In November 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Montgomery’s segregated bus seating unconstitutional. The boycott ended once the ruling took effect. As the first major victory against legalized segregation, the strategies used in Montgomery were adapted by a new generation of activists dedicated to nonviolent protest.
The new National Museum of African American History and Culture is collaborating with the National Portrait Gallery on it inaugural exhibition of African American photographic portraits. Selected by guest curator and photography historian, Deborah Willis, this exhibition explores the medium’s influential role in shaping public identity and individual notions of race and status over the past 150 years.
The exhibition’s title was inspired by the rallying cry of celebrated abolitionists Henry Highland Garnet (1815-1882) who challenged African Americans to rise up and emancipate themselves. “Let your motto be resistance.” he exclaimed. “Resistance! Resistance! No oppressed people have ever secured their liberty without resistance!”
The portrait subjects come from many sectors of the African American community. Nineteenth-century figures such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Edmonia Lewis are included, as well as twentieth-century icons W.E.B. Du Bois, Lorraine Hansberry, and Wynton Marsalis. Among the featured photographers, who employ a variety of strategies to create their powerful images, are Mathew Brady, Berenice Abbott, James VanDerZee, Doris Ulmann, Edward Weston, Gordon Parks, Irving Penn, and Carl Van Vechten.
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
December 2, 12:00 PM
Costs: Individual tickets, $100; Tables available
The Board of Directors and staff of the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture invite you to join us for our Annual Jazzy Holiday Luncheon on Thursday, December 2, 2010. Your support of this community-wide event allows us to strengthen our efforts in offering the Charlotte community the very best in African-American art, history and culture as we continue our extraordinary transition to our new Uptown cultural facility.
Our Jazzy Holiday Luncheon is the Gantt Center’s single annual awards and fundraising event. This year’s noon luncheon will be held at the Charlotte Center City Hilton Hotel located at 222 East Third Street. At the luncheon, we will share the highlights and key accomplishments of our first year in the new facility. We will present our 2010 Gantt Center Awards to truly outstanding honorees who have made tremendous contributions to the Gantt Center and the broader Charlotte community.
This year’s award recipients are (click names to view bio):
Dr. David Driskell – nationally recognized artist, scholar, art historian and authority on 20th Century African-American art.
Mr. and Mrs. Leon Levine – one of Charlotte’s leading philanthropic families who have been extraordinarily generous to educational, human services and cultural organizations throughout our city.
Dr. and Mrs. Spurgeon Webber Jr. – well-respected Charlotte residents, civic leaders, philanthropists and strong patrons of the arts.
Please consider supporting this important fundraiser and recognition event.
Purchase Tickets Online
You may purchase tickets to this event in advance. Individual tickets are $100 in advance (plus an online service fee). Click here to purchase your advance tickets to this event.
For table or corporate purchases, please contact Bonita Hemphill at (704) 547-3762 or Patrick Diamond at (704) 547-3739.
Nationwide (BlackNews.com) — The most compelling biographies are the ones that don’t just recount the events in life of it’s subject, but allows the reader to truly escape into their world and actually live the emotions that come with that person’s trials and triumphs.
Basketball Slave: The Andy Johnson Harlem Globetrotter/NBA Story is filled to the brim with extraordinary tales from behind the scenes of the early Original Harlem Globetrotters. It’s loaded with a wealth of historical information never disclosed about the slow, quota-based inception of African American athletes in the NBA. This book clarifies the role of the Original Harlem Globetrotters in making the NBA the multi-billion dollar organization it is today. It is also a fascinating and inspirational story that examines the heart-wrenching account of a young boy who became a man through the lessons of basketball.
Andy grew up watching his family work in the cotton fields of Louisiana, and began playing basketball in the streets of Hollywood, California. As a high school star, his education was undervalued. He was sent to a major university without any hope of receiving a degree. He ended up being sold on the professional auction block, with no ability to negotiate his pay or where he could play.
Narrated by his son, the story highlights the remarkable relationship between a father and son. Of course, bubbling underneath the surface of this manuscript is the passion and furor of the author, Andy Johnson’s son Mark. He spent nearly two years fighting the NBA for his father’s pension and a decade for his retroactive payments, as well as researching his father’s life accomplishments in hopes of honoring him. During his research, Mark uncovered others who have contributed in the game of life on and off the court.
Finally, Mark taps into his vast network of former professional basketball players, sports writers and administrators – not only to add credibility to the story – but to garner lots of terrific anecdotes about Andy Johnson’s life and the period that they played. The basketball community is a well-connected one. Even the great players have heroes and people they look up to that have influenced their own lives.
For example: In New York, there is a long history of basketball and all of these legends are connected. Interviewed in the book is Carl Green, an ex-Harlem Globetrotter, who played with Andy in the early 50’s and coached in the famous Rucker League in New York. He talks about people such as William “Pop “Gates, Tom “Satch” Sanders, Archie Clark, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Nate “Tiny” Archibald. These former players have great respect when it comes to the men that helped pave the wave for them. This book will give a uniquely sobering perspective for anyone who has ever glamorized about the most famous team recognized all over the world.
About The Author:
Mark Johnson is the youngest son of Andy Johnson, and is a respected business professional and advocate for young people. A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of State University at Old Westbury with a B.S. in Science, this is Johnson’s first book.
Visit www.basketballslave.com to find out more about “Basketball Slave”.
I am a photographer, film-maker, photo illustrator and a playwright. As a photographer, I have photographed over 11,000 images. A number of my images have been exhibited at the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) and Community College in Philadelphia.. I have taken a number of photography and film classes at various schools and workshops over the years.
As a self taught playwright, I had the opportunity to study under Charles Fuller (A Soldier’s story) and I have written over seven plays, three of which were agency represented. I received a fellowship from the Theater Association of Pennsylvania (TAP) to help me complete my play, entitled, “Body, Mind and Spirit”, formally entitled , “The Molestation” . The play explores the Black Vietnam veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I have had film screenings in Philafilm, an annual film festival held in Philadelphia. I have also made a number of films for AAMP and I have created short video commercial segments for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC). One of My documentary films was used by AMMP to accompany their exhibit on the 30th anniversary of the Odunde festival held annually in Philadelphia. In addition, I have taught playwriting at Temple’s PASCEP program.
More recently, I wrote the script and was the lead editor of the short documentary film entitled, Engine 11: A Journey of Segregation and Discovery, which was screened at the International House via Scribe Video. I am presently working on a multi-part documentary on the history of Jazz in Philadelphia.
As a result of my background in film and playwriting, My photo illustrations are assembled as if building a sequence of events or actions to arrive at a final image or destination. As a photo illustrator, I seek to imitate a pattern of the life cycle. Life is and can be transformational; we are born in one state of being and we physically die in another. By disassembling as well as re-assembling portions of my images, I intentionally explore this transformational process. I recreate the image hoping to expand its message.
History, culture, ritual, spirituality… these are some common adjectives used to describe African masks.
SIMONE LINO
August 10th, 1978, on a sunny afternoon in Minas Gerais, a Brazilian artist was born.
Simone Lino: dancer, singer, painter… Lino took dance classes from the age of 7 and at 10 learned how to samba like a true Brazilian native and at 13 started to perform professionally at the Carnaval.
Lino’s parents always kept Lino busy with artistic activities. From the age of 9 she took art classes three times per week which became a passion.
She sang professionally in local venues and in the choir of Parana University of Arts (FAP) from 2001-2003, took stage classes in 2004, formed a hip-hop band from 1998-2001 and a funk/soul/R&B band from 2000-2003.
Simone Lino has painted all her life, with oil being her preferred medium. Since moving from Rio de Janeiro to Philadelphia in 2005, she reconnected with her art to fill in the absence of her parents and family.
Lino, also known as “Dona Yaya·” in her paintings, expresses herself through freedom of colors, leaving ample room for the viewers’ imagination.
With her bright and happy personality she has always been involved in art in one-way or another.
Lino’s debut at Vivant Gallery will expose the public to a new vision of Brazil.
Art is what moves her forward and the sky is her limit!
Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Thelma vanPutten Langhorn, a nurse, and Toussaint L’Ouverture Davis, a Baptist minister.[1] He was raised in Mastic, New York.
Clifton starred as barber Clifton Curtis in the mid 1970’s television show That’s My Mama with Theresa Merritt, Theodore Wilson and Ted Lange (who subsequently became a mainstay of The Love Boat). Davis’ romantic interest with songstress and Broadway performer Melba Moore led to his co-starring role on her musical variety television show.
Davis made a guest appearance on the third episode of the first season of The Bobby Vinton Show in September 1975, singing “I’ve Got The Music In Me” and “Never Can Say Goodbye”. He successfully sang the Polish lyrics with Vinton to the show’s “My Melody of Love” theme song.
Before finding fame in acting, Davis worked as a songwriter, most famously penning The Jackson 5’s #2 hit “Never Can Say Goodbye”.
A triple heart bypass survivor, he participated in the “superstars” celebrity TV sports competitions of the seventies. He also appeared in the film Scott Joplin in 1977.
Davis released one acclaimed (and now hard to find) studio recording in 1991 on Benson Records titled Say Amen. He also appeared as a panelist in the second version of The Match Game.
October 8, 2010 – January 23, 2011
Deborah Willis and Hank Willis Thomas — mother and son — collaborate with Fo Wilson and her son Dayo Harewood for Progeny Two which opens to Gantt Center members & donors on Friday, October 8 at 6:00 pm and to the public on Saturday, October 9. This exhibition is the first collaborative effort undertaken by the four. Willis and Thomas are photographers. Wilson uses the language of furniture to amplify the human experience and Harewood is a filmmaker. Progeny Two is positioned at the intersection of their practices. The result is a thoughtful medley that highlights the impact of family, history, and memory on the processes of artistic production.
Please note, this exhibit contains adult content.
Related Events – Artist’s Voice
Join Willis, Thomas and Wilson on Saturday, October 9 at 1:00 pm for the Artist’s Voice gallery talk. The artists will lead visitors through the show and discuss their collective and individual visions, inspirations and artistic processes. Q&A will follow.
In conjunction with 100 Years of African-American Art, The Dayton Art Institute will collaborate with the University of Dayton on Marking the Past/Shaping the Present: The Art of Willis Bing Davis, which will showcase works by the noted Dayton artist. Davis attended The School of The Dayton Art Institute and has been a fixture of the Dayton arts community for several decades. The University of Dayton will display Davis’ photographs, masks and ceramics, while The Dayton Art Institute will host an exhibition of his oil pastels.
Note: Admission price includes both exhibitions.
Price
$10.00
Discounts
Member: Free admission for museum members
Senior: $8
Student: $8
Group: $8
Special 1: Youth (ages 7 – 18): $6
Special 2: Chidren under 6 Free
Order & Box Office Information
Box Office: 937-223-5277
http://www.daytonartinstitute.org/exhibitions/2010primas.html
Venue
Dayton Art Institute
456 Belmonte Park North
Dayton, OH 45405
http://www.daytonartinstitute.org/
Reviews / More Information
October 24, 2010 — Coral Gables — The University of Miami Lowe Art Museum’s fall/winter exhibition will feature selections from one of the premier collections of African American art. The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art: Works on Paper will provide a rare opportunity for the public to view master graphics spanning three centuries. The works are to be on view from November 13, 2010 – January 16, 2011. A preview lecture and reception will be held on November 12th from 7-10 PM. The lecture will be presented by collector Harriet Kelley along with her daughter, art historian Jennifer Kelley.
The 69 works in the exhibition include drawings, etchings, lithographs, watercolors, pastels, acrylics, gouaches, and screen prints by such noted artists as Henry O. Tanner, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, and Alison Saar.
This Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection exhibition is one of the largest and most comprehensive traveling exhibitions ever organized featuring African American artists from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The majority of the works in this exhibition were produced during the 1930s and 40s. This was the era of the Great Depression and the WPA/FAP (Works Progress Administration of the Federal Arts Project) that provided employment for many artists. The 1960s and early 70s gave birth to the politically-motivated and African-inspired civil rights period, which is another focus of this exhibition. The late 20th and early 21st centuries highlight works on paper from some of the brightest stars of the contemporary generation; Margo Humphrey, Dean Mitchell, Robert Colescott, Lionel Lofton, and Ike E. Morgan.
Dr. Harmon Kelley and his wife Harriet were inspired to begin collecting after viewing an exhibition of African American art at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Their art collection has become something of a museum’s dream and now travels to major venues all over the globe.
The Lowe will also feature a selection of works by African American Artists from it’s permanent collection, to complement the Kelley Collection exhibition.
This exhibition is organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA. The exhibition at the Lowe Art Museum is made possible by a grant from Funding Arts Network. Additional sponsorship provided by Northwestern Mutual.
The Lowe Art Museum is located at the University of Miami at 1301 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables. Gallery and Museum Store hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 10-4; Sunday: 12-4; Monday: Closed. Regular Admission (not including special events) is $10; $5 for Seniors and Non-UM Students; Free for Lowe Art Museum Members, University of Miami students, faculty and staff, and children under 12. For more information, call (305) 284-3535 or visit http://www.lowemuseum.org.
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The University of Miami’s mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of our diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. http://www.miami.edu.