This past year, 2016, was a year of learning and growth. This blog covered a wide variety of topics, which I hope readers found interesting and spurred them to do further research. The topics showcased African Americans enriching the history, culture, and civics of our … Read MoreHappy New Year 2017!
Two profoundly affecting interviews highlight the power and importance of the imagination, art, endurance, hope, and hard, hard work. As 2016 comes to a close, please listen to the interviews below. Anthony Ray Hinton (left) The first is an interview conducted by John Hockenberry of … Read MoreTwo Stories to Reflect Upon as 2016 Comes to a Close
Art is political whether purposefully or inadvertently. Art can be manipulated, can make a statement through what is created or the mere creating of it. It is possible to enjoy and appreciate art regardless of its intent; it is possible to fulminate against the message … Read MoreCutting Edge: Politics and Art
The summer of 2016 was dominated by news from the Rio Olympics (where African Americans scored in the medal department) and the 100th Birthday of the National Park Service (where African Americans and other minorities are in short supply, but there is hope). Thomas’ The … Read MoreInteresting News (you may have missed)
Blacks have been involved in the delivery of mail since the beginning of slavery. Trusted enslaved blacks had been delivering parcels and letters between plantations. It wasn’t until a Congressional Act in 1802 that only free whites were allowed to deliver the mail. Concerns about … Read MoreThe Postal Service, Philately, & African Americans
Three artists working in our communities today have rich connections with the past. This connectedness allows us to appreciate those who have gone before; teaches us that all art is cultural appropriation; gives us insights into today; and gives youth a path forward. The artists … Read MoreInterconnectedness: Artists in Our Midst
Change is at the heart of growth and expansion, personal as well as organizational and cultural. And BlackPast.org is experiencing both growth and change! As readers know, the BlackPast.org website is the repository of an amazing amount of material for both in-depth research as well … Read MoreChanges!
February is a symbolic month for nostalgia, remembrance, celebration, and the teaching/learning of the past inorder to inform actions in the present and to prepare the young for the future. Sojourner Truth c.1797-1883 Two books were published in 2015 that are remarkable in their presentation … Read MorePhotos, Books, Food, Drink: Legacies & Sustenance for the Soul
This last post for 2015 looks back 273 years to the birth of Francis Barber and forward to the hope that children always bring. Francis Barber by Joshua Reynolds The 16 July, 2015 issue of the London Review of Books contained a book review of … Read MoreLooking Back and Looking Forward
Noah Purifoy 1966 LA Times photo “I do not wish to be an artist. I wish only that art enables me to be” Noah Purifoy, 1963 (the Noah Purifoy Foundation). Mr. Purifoy’s statement, his philosophy and guiding principle, is an accurate description of what art … Read MoreThe Arts: The Gifts that Keep on Giving
