Posted on January 20, 2013 by Harlem World Magazine |
The New-York Historical Society will celebrate Black History Month with an exhibit on photographs of murals celebrating civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and programs on the African American troops of the Civil War; the Civil rights movement, and New York’s historic African Burial Ground.
Exhibits:
THE DREAM CONTINUES: PHOTOGRAPHS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING MURALS BY VERGARA
Civil Rights Gallery
Until May 5, 2013
MacArthur Fellow Camilo José Vergara has been traveling across the United States for more than thirty years photographing Martin Luther King murals. Continuing its commitment to recognizing the history of Civil Rights in this country, the New-York Historical Society will exhibit approximately forty of these photographs. The murals appeared on the walls of establishments such as car repair shops, barbershops, and fast food restaurants in city streets and alley ways. These folk art portraits of Dr. King have expressed how the inner-city residents saw the slain civil rights leader—at times a statesman, a hero, a visionary, or a martyr. Vergara also discovered that these images were often based on iconic photographs of King but that, depending upon the neighborhood where they were created, the portraits could take on the likeness of Latinos, Native Americans, or Asians. Martin Luther King can be seen depicted alone or accompanied by others including Malcolm X, Pancho Villa, or Cesar Chavez. Since 2008 King has also been coupled with Barack Obama, suggesting that Obama realized the potential and promise that the civil rights movement offered to minorities. Martin Luther King championed rights for everyone, and this exhibition evidences his influence reaching across cultural boundaries throughout the nation. Vergara remarked about his work that “most murals and street portraits of Dr. King are ephemeral. Paint fades, businesses change hands and neighborhood demographics shift. Gradually, images reflecting the culture and values of poor communities are lost….Often, my photographs are the only lasting record of these public works of art.” Curated by: Camilo José Vergara assisted by Marilyn S. Kushner, Curator and Head, Department of Prints, Photographs and Architectural Collections, N-YHS.
ABOLISHING SLAVERY: THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCCLAMATION
Until February 18, 2013
The Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863, was a major step towards the abolition of slavery in America, helping to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence and renew the nation’s founding philosophy of human liberty. The New-York Historical Society commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation with a display of rare documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, including an important 1864 printing of the Emancipation Proclamation and a congressional copy of the Thirteenth Amendment resolution, both bearing the signature of Abraham Lincoln. While the Emancipation Proclamation stands as the most important accomplishment of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, Lincoln realized as the Civil War raged on that that the issue of slavery could only be settled permanently by changing the Constitution itself. By the end of 1864, the Senate had approved the abolition amendment, although it was still two votes short of the two-thirds necessary for passage in the House of Representatives. At Lincoln’s urging, the amendment was re-introduced, and finally passed on January 31, 1865. Lincoln, felled by an assassin’s bullet on April 15, 1865, did not live to see the amendment become law. When it finally was ratified eight months later, the Thirteenth Amendment freed nearly one million slaves still held in bondage in the states not covered by the Emancipation Proclamation.
Public Prtograms:
LINCOLN, DOUGLASS, AND THE U.S. COLORED TROOPS IN ACTION
Tuesday, February 19, 6:30 pm
David W. Blight, Elizabeth D. Leonard, Mia Bay, Harold Holzer (Moderator)
Location: Robert H. Smith Auditorium at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West
Under the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union Army began recruiting so-called “colored” troops for the first time—and the mere fact that they donned military uniforms, bore arms and fought in battle revolutionized the status of African Americans, even as it stirred intolerance in many Northern cities. This panel will explore the contributions, sacrifices and challenges faced by the Union’s extraordinary black fighting force, including the drama of Fort Wagner and the national shame of unequal pay.
THE KING YEARS: HISTORIC MOMENTS IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Tuesday, February 26, 6:30 pm
Taylor Branch, Bob Herbert (Moderator)
Location: Robert H. Smith Auditorium at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West
In 1955, on the first night of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, an untested, 26-year-old Baptist pastor made an impromptu speech that catapulted him into the public consciousness as one of the faces of the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement. Celebrated author Taylor Branch, in conversation with Bob Herbert, discusses the life and career of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the watershed moments in Civil Rights during King’s time.
Family Event:
READING INTO HISTORY BOOK WRAP: BREAKING GROUND, BREAKING SILENCE – MEET THE AUTHOR!
Sunday, February 24, 2013 3:00 pm
Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York’s African Burial Ground by Joyce Hansen and Gary McGowan
Ages 9 – 12
RSVP suggested; Free with Museum admission familyprograms@nyhistory.org
Read Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York’s African Burial Ground in honor of African-American History Month and then come to the Barbara K. Lipman Children’s History Library for this special event. Co-Author and urban archaeologist Gary McGowan will join us! Family participants will discuss the book, ask the author questions, and see African American related objects from the New-York Historical Society’s collection.
About Breaking Ground: Breaking Silence: The Story of New York’s African Burial Ground
In 1991, archaeologists digging at the site of a future office building in lower Manhattan found human remains. These remains are part of the oldest known cemetery for people of African descent in the United States. The people buried here were soldiers, farmers, and members of loving communities. Most were also enslaved. The discovery of this site exposed the realities of urban slavery and African-American life in colonial New York. In this ”moving and enriching” (Kirkus Reviews, 1998) Coretta Scott King Honor Award book, author Joyce Hansen and urban archaeologist Gary McGowan bring this untold history to young readers through the life stories of individuals buried at the site. In doing so, they show readers how, with bones, artifacts, and detective work, archaeologists can reconstruct histories lost through time and prejudice.
THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
FEBRUARY 1 – 28, 2013
NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 170 CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 77TH STREET
MEMBERS AND CHILDREN 4 & UNDER: FREE;
ADULTS: $15; SENIORS AND EDUCATORS: $12; STUDENTS: $10, CHILDREN 5-13: $5
Directions: To get to The New-York Historical Society take B or C trains to 81st Street or M10 bus to 77th Street; M79 to 81st and CPW.
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Monday, January 21st 2013 at 3:42PM
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