Black History Month 2010 Events @ Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library

“Re-Enslavement Revisited” Art Exhibition Opening
February 1 – 28, 2010
In celebration of 2010 Black History Month, the Art Exhibition entitled
“Re-enslavement Revisited” will open at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on February 1, 2009 at 6:00pm in the Great Hall. The month-long exhibit features celebrated artists Terry Dixon and Robert Morris. Their re-enslavement artwork was inspired by Douglas Blackmon’s 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning volume in general non-fiction, Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of African Americans from the Civil War to World War II. The exhibit is designed to highlight the role of major corporations and local government in denying southern blacks their civil rights through the power of judicial and penal systems.

Mr. Dixon is a native of Washington, DC who received his BFA degree from the Atlanta College of Art in 1992 and his MFA degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. In the May 2005 issue of BusinessWeek Magazine, he was featured as an emerging interdisciplinary artist to start collecting. Earlier this year, he won the First Annual Art-in-Residence position at the Chicago Southland Arts Alliance. Most recently, he was the featured artist on the cover of
The International Review of African American Art.

Mr. Morris is the Director of External Affairs at the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah, Georgia. He studied art at The Sidwell Friends School (Washington, DC) and Tulane University in New Orleans. His one man show “20” was held at the Book Lady Bookstore in Savannah, in June 2008. His exhibit, “Slavery by Another Name,” took place at the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum in Savannah on May 15, 2009. Both artists return for a brief slide presentation on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The Honorable Russlynn H. Ali with the Shiloh Baptist Church Senior Choir
February 2, 2010

The Honorable Russlynn H. Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, United States. Department of Education will speak at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall. She will examine an aspect of the Department’s role in providing opportunities to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Included in her presentation will be a discussion of the Office of Civil Rights’ enforcement efforts to prohibit discriminatory practices in programs or activities that receive federal, educational funds. The U.S. Senate confirmed President Obama’s March 18th nominee on May 1, 2009. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Ali served as vice president of the Education Trust in Washington, DC, a national advocacy organization that works toward high academic achievement of students at all levels. A former teacher and chief of staff to the president of the Los Angeles School District’s Board of Education, she graduated from American University and Northwestern University School of Law. Before her career in the non-profit sector, she practiced corporate and civil rights law and served on the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Law. She will joined by the Shiloh Baptist Church Senior Choir. The Choir is a widely recognized ensemble in the Metropolitan area. Led by conductor Thomas Dixon Tyler, the Choir has received recognition for its Christmas concerts and the “Anthem of Thanksgiving.” City residents have been captivated by its performance of excerpts from Handel’s “The Messiah” (City Cable 16). The Choir also gained recognition for its popular CD “Praise the Lord! – Gospel Music in Washington, DC.”

Dr. Maurice Jackson, Associate Professor of History, Georgetown University with the Sidwell Friends School Chamber Choir
February 8, 2010

Dr. Maurice Jackson, Associate Professor of History at Georgetown University, will lecture at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Monday, February 8, 2010 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall. Dr. Jackson is the author of the critically-acclaimed book, Let This Voice be Heard: Anthony Benezet, Father of Atlantic Abolitionism (2008) His research interests include Race and Revolution in the Atlantic World, African American History and Culture, and African American intellectual history. He has spoken at many events including a symposium at New York University and a celebration that honored pianist Thelonius Monk at Duke University. In keeping with the Black History Month 2010 theme, “The History of Black Economic Empowerment,” Dr. Jackson will talk about the mid 18th Century Quaker leader as an early contributor to black self-sufficiency through education. He will be joined by Sidwell Friends School Chamber Choir. The Choir has traveled throughout the United and abroad. It has performed at the White House and has participated in the Tunes to Teens program of CASA, The Contempary A Cappella Society. The Choir is directed by John Touchton, Arts Department Chair, Choral Arts Director and Music Teacher.

The Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) with the Higher Praise Chorale, Asbury United Methodist Church
February 9, 2010

The Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) will speak at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall. The nine-term congresswoman will focus on some aspect of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). At present, Representative Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In addition to being a Senior Democratic Whip, she has earned a reputation as a foreign policy expert and has worked to improve human rights around the world. A champion of higher education, she co-founded the House HBCU Caucus in September 2008. During the 107th legislative session, Congresswoman Johnson chaired the Congressional Black Caucus. She will be joined by the Higher Praise Gospel Chorale of the Asbury United Methodist Church. The Choir is conducted by acclaimed composer, Stephen Key of StepKey Music. Formed ten years ago, the Gospel Chorale gained recognition for its 2007 inspiring benefit concert entitled “From There to Here” in which it performed the works of James Cleveland, Edwin and Walter Hawkins, and Richard Smallwood to name a few of gospel music’s greatest artists.

Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music In Concert
February 16, 2010

Brace yourself for a handclapping, footstompping gospel feast! At the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall, Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music will appear in concert. The dynamic singing aggregation began in 1994. It consists of talented vocalists and musicians from the Washington Metropolitan Area. The Choir has traveled throughout the United States and abroad. In addition to appearing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the U. S. Senate’s Family Thanksgiving Celebration in 2002, the White House in 2002, and on Black Entertainment Television’s “Bobby Jones Gospel Hour," the Choir received the honor of representing the United States at the World’s Fair in Lisbon, Portugal in 1998 where it performed at the opening ceremonies and also spread the gospel in concert at several churches. In 2002, it toured the Bahamas. In addition to producing one album and three CDs, the Choir has performed in concert with many national recording artists such as Yolanda Adams, Richard Smallwood, Kirk Frankland & Family, Shirley Caesar, Dorothy Norwood, and CeCe and Vicki Winans. On November 7, 2009, the Choir celebrated its 15th anniversary with a live recording that featured Tramaine Hawkins.

Journalist Gwen Ifill
February 22, 2010

Gwen Ifill will take center stage at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on Monday, February 22, 2010 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Hall. Attorney General Eric Holder’s 2009 Black History Month ‘a nation of cowards’ remarks, along with Harvard Professor Henry Lewis Gates’ July 2009 house arrest, has led to a continuation of the inequality debate. Within the context of the 2010 Black History Month theme, “The History of Black Economic Empowerment,” and her best-selling book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama (2009), journalist Ifill will look at race in the age of America’s first black president. She is the moderator and managing editor of “Washington Week” and senior correspondent for the “News Hour with Jim Lehrer.” The political analyst joined both organizations in 1999. A veteran reporter of six presidential campaigns, she moderated the Vice Presidential debates in 2004 and 2008. A book signing follows the lecture.

Journalist Douglas Blackmon
February 23, 2010

Douglas Blackmon, the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner in non-fiction, will discuss his book, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (2008) at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall. Based on a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Blackmon will tell the shameful story of a new form of human bondage in which the southern power structure deliberately stripped free black men of their civil rights and profited in human labor. Blackmon currently serves as Atlanta Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal. Since the late 1980s, he has written extensively on United States race relations. He joined the Journal as a reporter in 1995. In his role as Bureau Chief, he manages the coverage of major transportation companies and other issues that impact the southeastern United States. Many of his stories have explored the cross section of wealth, race and corporate conduct. A book signing follows the lecture.

Dr. Barbara Tomblin
February 24, 2010

Dr. Barbara Tomblin will lecture at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 beginning at 12:00 noon in the Black Studies Center, Room 316. She is the author of Bluejackets and Contrabands: African Americans and the Union Navy. She will focus on the role of escaped slaves in the Union blockage along the Atlantic Coast during the Civil War. A naval historian who earned a doctorate in U.S. History from Rutgers University, she has taught at a number of institutions of higher learning in New Jersey, including Morris County College and Rutgers. In addition to over a dozen articles in subfields of the U.S. Civil War, World War II, and Women the Military, Dr. Tomblin has presented papers at Sienna College and the U.S. Navy Academy. She is the author of two other monographs,
(G. I. Nightingales: The Army Nurse Corp in World War II 1996) and With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean 1942-1945 (2004).