JOURNEYSR e g i n a l d F. L e w i s M u s e u m N e w s m a g a z i n e

WINTER /SPRING 2016

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Dear Friend,

Happy 2016, and thank you for a fantastic 2015! You helped us close out last year with a bang! Our 10th anniversary gala in November hosted nearly 1,000 attendees, the most of any gala so far. Many of you even outlasted the museum staff on the dance floor. Thank you for your generosity and support.

In 2016, we begin an exciting new approach to our changing exhibitions and programs. They will be unified around one theme to help us explore one subject in greater depth. With everything that is going on in our city, state, and nation, we have chosen 2016 as the Year of the Black Man. Our efforts, therefore, will focus on the African American experience from the male perspective from the past, present, and future.

Another change in 2016 is that Journeys will be coming to you biannually, rather than quarterly. You can look for the same great content. However, we will now send the calendar of events as a separate piece to you by mail once a quarter. We hope this will help us stay in better touch by increasing the communications you receive. We will also be building up other member benefits. Stay tuned for details and as always, thank you for your support!

With gratitude, The Editorial Staff

Cover image: Question Bridge

Become a Member and be Enriched

Join the community of supporters! Your membership helps share Maryland African American history and culture with present and future generations.

To join, visit www.LewisMuseum.org/Membership

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Baltimore’s Inner Harbor will glow this spring for seven days. From March 28 to April 3, nearly 30 light installations by artists from around the world will be on view as part of the city’s first annual festival of light, Light City. The works will be created through projecting light onto an existing or built surface in the harbor. Imagine hundreds of origami cranes floating in the water, each illuminated in different colors, or the pedestrian walkways lit with whimsical

messages, and nearby buildings with images projected on them that provoke thought, or simply give us a new way of seeing them due to their larger-than-life size. The festival also brings together live musical performances and a conference on the theme of innovation.

The museum has partnered with artist Paul Rucker to produce the installation “In Light of History.” Rucker is a celebrated visual artist,

In Light of History

A broadside from 1802 advertising for two runaway slaves. (From the permanent collection.) The slave trade was a dominant industry in Baltimore's Inner Harbor in the Antebellum years.

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composer, and musician who integrates live performance, sound, original compositions, and visual art. His numerous awards and accolades include the 2015 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize.

The project illuminates sites along the Inner Harbor that were involved in the slave trade. Baltimore’s slave industry was sizeable at the time. An infamous slave jail operated at Howard and Pratt Streets, opposite the present-day Convention Center. It retained 56 men, women and children and was liberated by the Union Army in 1864. The Frederick Street dock south of Pratt Street was the embarkation point for more than 2,000 slaves sold and shipped to the Deep South.

“People think of slavery in the South...but there were players all along the coast, and Baltimore was one of those major players,” says Rucker. “There were a lot of slave revenue sales...slave pens, and slaves going to Kentucky and other spots south. The impact of the slave trade is a significant part of history and not well-known... There’s not much in the city that tells that story...No plaques or monuments. I wanted to bring more understanding of how the city was built and bringing light to these places that we pass every day.”

The sites were chosen through research conducted at the museum's Resource Center, with assistance from its Manager, Lisa Crawley. The sites will be marked with lampposts

designed by Rucker. The lampposts tie into the 200th anniversary of the gas lamp, with Baltimore as the first U.S. city to use them for street lighting. “We call the ‘20s the ‘Roaring 20s,’ but it doesn’t include everyone.” Accompanying the installation will be a map of the sites and original musical compositions by Rucker, one for each location.

Much of this history has been forgotten, as the harbor nowadays welcomes families as a tourist destination. Rucker’s installation, however, is as much about reminding visitors about the past, as it is about “a celebration of people who made it through this,” says the artist. “It’s important for us to move forward with any conflict, with any problems…[knowing] our past in order to address the present.”

Join artist and cellist Paul Rucker for a walking tour and cello performance on Sunday, April 3. His light installation “In Light of History” is on view March 27 - April 3, 2016 at various locations in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Sponsored by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

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WHAT'S GOING ON?A P E E K I N S I D E T H E M U S E U M

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1. Young visitors hold a mock peaceful protest on MLK Weekend 2. 2016 MLK Day Celebration with crafts! 3. Laura Heilig, 1st place winner of the 8th Annual High School Juried Art Show 4. 2015 Gala attendees in their 1920s attire 5. Sankofa Dance Theater perform at our 2015 Kwanzaa Celebration

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From rock star to rockfish is the path of chef John Shields. As the owner of the acclaimed Gertrude's Restaurant at the Baltimore Museum of Art, Shields got his start as a restaurateur by way of the piano. After graduating from Peabody Conservatory, he loaded up his car and headed to Massachusetts with dreams of becoming a rock star “a la Elton John,” he recalls. “Not much doing in the rock star world out on Cape Cod in the dead of wintertime I found out” - luckily for his fans and patrons. While there, he happened to fill in for a friend who had broken his foot and was unable to work his restaurant shifts. Shields’ first task? Peeling garlic. “Well, here I was, an Irish Catholic boy from Baltimore — never even saw garlic before! I cut myself eight times…and so began my career in the culinary world,” he quips. Shields spoke to us recently about Chesapeake cooking and his next cookbook in the works.

W I T H J O H N S H I E L D S

Q: What are the cuisine’s influences?

A: Take a dish called St. Mary's Stuffed Ham. You look at who was behind the dish: the area’s plantation owners, who were mostly English. There was a lot of corned ham and beef because both foods could travel on ships and for long distances. Who was doing the cooking? African Americans. They stuffed the ham with

FLAVORS OF THE

CHESAPEAKE BAY

John Shields, chef, author,TV personality, and owner of the celebrated Gertrude's Restaurant at the Baltimore Museum of Art, credits his grandmother Gertie for his love of the kitchen.

FLAVORS OF THE

CHESAPEAKE BAYgreens like mustard greens. So, it’s a dish that combines two different culinary traditions. Chesapeake cuisine is rich with this kind of history.

Q: What will you be presenting in March?

A: I’ll be talking about Chesapeake cuisine from a historical perspective, giving an overview, and taking a look at where are we now. We’ll also be looking at kitchens for the 21st century.

Q: You’re working on a new cookbook. What can you tell us about it?

A: Things have changed. The old species in the Bay aren’t as plentiful as they once were. We have new, invasive species. So, it's about taking stock of where we're at. The new cookbook looks at what's good for the Bay as well as what's good for the body.

Q: For people who want to jump into Chesapeake cooking, where should they start?

A: The farmers' market. You don’t have to know much about cooking. Just talk to the farmers and meet the people who are growing your food. They can rattle off recipes for you. And if you don’t know what to do with a vegetable, just ask, and ten people will chime in around you. Also, shop local and start a kitchen garden of local plants.

Mr. Shields gives a talk on Chesapeake regional cooking as part of the museum’s Eastern Shore Folklife Festival on March 21, 2016, 2pm. The day-long celebration of Eastern Shore culture is in conjunction with our current exhibit Ruth Starr Rose: Revelations of African American Life in Maryland and the World.

Below: Chesapeake cuisine draws its ingredients from what is local and fresh, such as Shields' rockfish imperial.

Jumbo Shrimp with Seafood StuffingHere is a recipe that incorporates our beloved crabmeat as a complement to other seafood flavors. It is brought to you by chef John Shields.

1 cup (1/2 pound) butter1/2 cup minced green bell pepper1/2 cup minced red bell pepper1/4 cup minced onion1/2 cup dry white wine, plus white wine for baking dish1/4 cup fresh lemon juice1 tablespoon chopped garlic1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells1/4 pound scallops, poached or

sautéed and then finely diced1 cup finely diced, peeled, steamed shrimp1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsleySalt and black pepper, to tasteDried bread crumbs, as needed2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterfliedMelted butter, for drizzling on the shrimp

Preheat oven to 375F.In a skillet, melt the butter and sauté the bell peppers and onion briefly. Add the wine, lemon juice and garlic. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.In a mixing bowl combine the crabmeat, scallops, and diced shrimp. Pour the butter and vegetable mixture over the top. Add parsley, salt and black pepper and mix well. Add enough breadcrumbs as needed for the mixture to hold together.Place jumbo shrimp, spread open, in a shallow casserole or baking dish and mound the stuffing on top of each. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of each shrimp. Pour a little white wine in the bottom of the dish. Bake 20 minutes. Serve hot.

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Seeking Questions and Answers from Black Males San Diego may conjure visions of perfect beaches and endless sun, but it is also a place where the African American community was divided along class and generational lines. Enter artist Chris Johnson. To help bridge those gaps, he focused on using dialogue, but with a twist. He began videotaping community members asking questions that they had for one another, without anyone else being present. Removing the face-to-face interaction between

interviewer and interview subject allowed a cathartic breakthrough of raw questions such as, “How do we help our younger brothers be more open-minded?” “What keeps men away from church?” “Why am I considered a traitor for dating outside of my race?” He taped the answers separately as well. The concept produced such meaningful insight that he expanded the project nationally to focus on a subject that he knew intimately, but also not at

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all: African American men. Four other artists - Hank Willis Thomas, Kamal Sinclair, Will Sylvester, and Bayete’ Ross Smith - worked with him to interview 160 black men in 9 cities, producing 1,600 videos. The result is Question Bridge, a video art installation where the questions and answers are edited to appear as one, seamless conversation between men of differing ages and background about family, love, violence, education, and more.

“We [men] don’t have the tendency to open up with one another,” says the museum’s Chief Curator Charles Bethea. Audiences have found the experience so honest, captivating, and therapeutic, that they have stayed for the entire three-and-half hour video loop, although the installation was designed so a viewer could drop

in and out at any point. Sylvester has observed that for the men who have participated, it has opened them up to talking more freely. “They don’t have to just have barber shop conversations; we can have them any time.” For Charles Johnson, he hopes the project can help dispel negative stereotypes about African American males. “American media rarely shows whole, complex and authentic images of black men; so by creating a space where these images can live, we hope that people will start to see things differently.” Sylvester describes Question Bridge as giving “a peek behind the curtain...if you want to understand not just African American men, but human beings.”

Question Bridge: Black Males is on view April 28 - September 30, 2016.

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by Lisa Crawley, Manager of the Museum Resource Center

The Promising Career of

Mabel Randolph Brooks

An altar piece in the form of a triptych by Mabel R. Brooks, entitled Madonna and Child with Angels.

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by Lisa Crawley, Manager of the Museum Resource Center

You can learn more about historical Maryland figures at the Resource Center, open Wednesdays, Fridays and first and third Saturdays, 12pm - 4pm. If you have any additional information on Mabel Randolph Brooks or her family, please contact the Resource Center at lisa.crawley@lewismuseum.org.

In the 1930s when artist Ruth Starr Rose was creating portraits of the Moaney and DeShields families of Maryland, another artist, African American Mabel Randolph Brooks began attracting attention in art circles along the East Coast as well. In 1932 Brooks wrote an article in the Crisis Magazine to promote her accomplishments as an educated and skilled artist ready to make her mark in the world. Two of Brooks’ early works, which garnered wide attention, included an altar tapestry made in memory of her mother, and a triptych created at Yale in the style of the “old masters.” Both works became seminal pieces in her career; the altar tapestry led Brooks to commit to art as a vocation; the Yale triptych enabled the young artist to sojourn in Italy for a year. While in Europe, Brooks discovered the beauty of a small Italian village dating back to the medieval period. This transformative experience resulted in a painting of a Madonna with angels that became another highly touted and valuable work.

Brooks’ path to Yale and Italy were no accident. Born in Charles County, Maryland, near the turn of the century, Mabel was one of seven children of Reverend John Randolph Brooks, a minister in the Episcopal Church. In a newspaper article from

the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Brooks told her family, at age five, she would one day attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. While a high school student in Philadelphia, Brooks entered a local art contest which led to a scholarship at the academy. She became the first African American to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Yale and later studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York. Always on the lookout for opportunity, Brooks participated in the renowned exhibits of the Harmon Foundation, featuring leading African American artists of the 1920s and 30s.

By her early thirties, Brooks also discovered a passion for art education and was awarded a grant from the Carnegie Corporation to teach at Fisk University, Florida A&M, and Atlanta University. As an art teacher, she brought a holistic world view to her classroom so that students would engage in art and experience the art of living.

A decade later, the written record of Mabel Randolph Brooks becomes hidden from plain view. Did she continue creating art and promoting her work? Did she marry and change her name, relocate or leave the country? The mystery remains unsolved.

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May 5 - September 30

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A BLACK MALE ?

A VIDEO ART INSTALLATION

Why do so many of us live in the present tense?

How do we break the cycle?

What are you doing to make your community a

better place?

At what point do young people

stop respecting their elders?

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Exhibit ions

CALENDARBMORE Than the Story April 16 to August 28, 2016

During the Baltimore protests of spring 2015, the overriding media coverage of young people was pejorative and full of scorn. This exhibition by students of Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts and the University of Maryland College Park seeks to give back control of that narrative. The content addresses the one-sided media portrayal of young people and the realities of the students’ lives.

Question Bridge: Black Males April 28 - September 30, 2016

This innovative video installation probes the lives of black men as they ask and answer provocative questions such as, “Why am I a traitor for dating outside of my race?” “What’s your greatest fear?” The videos were collected over several years and woven together to simulate a stream-of-consciousness dialogue, through which important themes and issues emerge, including family, love, interracial relationships, community, education, violence, and the past, present, and future of black men in American society.

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Programs Special EventsFamilies Films

All programs are included with museum admission unless otherwise noted.

Free & Enslaved: A Spectrum of 19th Century African American Life Saturday, April 2, 1pmThroughout antebellum history, free and enslaved African Americans often worked and lived in proximity to each other, including marrying and raising families together. Dr. Dale Green and Dr. Andrea Williams present life in both of these communities.

In Light of History: Artist Talk & Cello Performance by Paul Rucker Sunday, April 3, 2pm Join renowned artist Paul Rucker (Best Artist 2015 - Baltimore Magazine; Best Visual Art Show 2015 - Baltimore City Paper) for a talk about his Light City installation, "In Light of History." The project illuminates sites around the Inner Harbor that were involved in Baltimore's extensive slave trade. He also performs original cello compositions written for each site.

Floetic Fridays Friday, April 8, 7:30-10pm Join us for an evening of up-and-coming emcees, poets, and DJs in this series of spoken word and hip hop expression. Open mic followed by a featured performer. $10 General admission.

BMORE Than the Story: Community Forum and Performance Saturday, April 16, 1:30pm - 4pm Hear the voices of Baltimore teens of the Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts (AFSIVA) as they explain their personal experiences to the Baltimore Unrest through theatrical performances and a community forum during this opening day event of the exhibition BMORE Than the Story. A reception follows the performance.

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Free Young Blood Sunday, April 17, 6pm - 8pm

(75 mins) This film takes a look at the mass incarceration of young black males by examining the contributing causes of high-risk behavior, the intersectionality of race & poverty, and America’s drug policy. Post-film panelists include Bobby Marvin Holmes, Co-director & Producer of "Free Young Blood"; Neill Franklin, Executive Director of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition); Joe Jones Founder/President & CEO of Center for Urban Families; Chris Wilson, Founder & CEO of Barclay Investment Corporation; and moderated by Sean Yoes, Host of "First Edition with Sean Yoes" on WEAA.

Third Thursday Live Performance Series Thursday, April 21, 5pm - 8pm Enjoy late night admission to the galleries until 8pm and a live musical performance 6-8pm. Sponsored by WEAA. $8 members; $10 non-members.

All Baltimore Voices: Stories About & Beyond the Unrest Saturday, April 23, 10am - 3:30pm Join for storytelling, spoken word, and a panel discussion in this day-long event that recognizes the one-year anniversary of the Baltimore Unrest. Share your personal stoop story about or beyond the Baltimore Unrest in story circles during a storytelling workshop led by Dr. Kaysona Whitehead of Loyola University. A panel on the Baltimore Unrest, storytelling presentations by participants, and a spoken word tribute by poet Kondwani Fidel follows. Refreshments provided. To participate in the workshop and or stoop story presentation, e-mail terry.taylor@lewismuseum.org. Sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council. Free admission.

Photo: Scott Bradley

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Book Talk with Ben Jealous Saturday, May 7, 2pm Join former NAACP president and former vice president at the John S. and James L. Knight foundation for a book talk on Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading & Succeeding, an inspiring collection of essays from black men who are making a difference in their communities. Powerful and indispensable to our ongoing cultural dialogue, Reach explodes myths about black men by providing rare, candid, and deeply personal insights into their lives. The book includes 40 first-person accounts from well-known men like the Rev. Al Sharpton, John Legend, Isiah Thomas, Bill T. Jones, Louis Gossett, Jr., and Talib Kweli, alongside influential community organizers, businessmen, religious leaders, philanthropists, and educators. In conjunction with the exhibition Question Bridge: Black Males.

4th Annual African American Children's Book Fair Saturday, May 14, 12pm - 4pm Dive into the world of kids’ literature focused on African Americans and people of other ethnicities. Enjoy author readings, illustration workshops, performances, and craft activities. Purchase hard-to-find titles in the Book Village. Free admission.

Third Thursday Live Performance Series Thursday, May 19, 5pm - 8pm On the third Thursday of the month, enjoy late night admission to the galleries until 8pm and a live musical performance. Doors at 5pm, show at 6pm. Sponsored by WEAA. $8 for members and $10 for non-members.

A Dream Preferred Sunday, May 22, 2 pm (22 mins) Follow the Taharka Brothers, whose ice cream was voted Best in Baltimore, and the six young men behind the company from their start in Baltimore’s toughest neighborhoods as they work to raise $28,000 in 29 days. An ice cream social and panel follows with the Taharka Brothers. By Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp). Vimeo Staff Pick. In conjunction with the exhibitions BMORE than the Story and Question Bridge: Black Males.

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Critical Discourse Among Black Males in the Obama Era Screening + Panel Sunday, June 5, 2pm (43 mins) In the era of the first black U.S. president, Barack H. Obama, this documentary explores the impact of the "Obama Effect" and whether the presence of a black male president has helped to reduce the negative perceptions of black males and increased black male achievement. In the documentary, black males were asked, “What does it mean to be a black male in the 21st Century?” From their responses, a substantial and controversial contribution to American discourse shaped by their perspectives was born. A panel follows with scholars and community leaders, including Dr. Lovell Smith of Loyola University. In conjunction with the exhibition Question Bridge: Black Males.

Floetic Fridays Friday, June 8, 7:30-10pm Join us for an evening of up-and-coming emcees, poets, and DJs in this series of spoken word and hip hop expression. Open mic followed by a featured performer. $10 General admission.

I am Franklin: Comic Book Art Workshop Saturday, June 11, Noon Create comic book art about your community and self-identity with artist Jerrel Gibbs utilizing the African American comic strip character Franklin Armstrong from the comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. Participants will dialogue with Mr. Gibbs, create an art piece using the Franklin character and create a written message to go along with their piece. Recommended for ages 8-14. In conjunction with the exhibitions BMORE Than the Story and Question Bridge: Black Males.

Third Thursday Live Performance Series Thursday, June 16, 5pm - 8pm On the third Thursday of the month, enjoy late night admission to the galleries until 8pm and a live musical performance. Doors at 5pm, show at 6pm. Sponsored by WEAA. $8 for members and $10 for non-members.

Art in the Hands of Men Saturday, June 25, 11am - 4pm 11am - 2pm Youth are invited to participate in a studio art activity with community artists related to the exhibit Art in the Hands of Men. 3pm An artist talk with curator Shawn Kwofi Holmes, Jerel Gibbs and their artist friends for an artist talk and show on the exhibition, Art in the Hands of Men.

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