GRIOTS REPUBLIC - AN URBAN BLACK TRAVEL MAG - SEPTEMBER 2016

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Nestled at the busy intersection of Constitution Ave and 14th Street in NW Washington, D.C., there’s a new neighbor to the variety of Smithsonian museums waiting to open its doors. The National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) will take guests on a journey throughout the nation’s history and how it shaped Black culture as we recognize it today. Congress passed legislation during the Bush administration to establish the museum in 2003. It was originally slated to open in 2015, but the dedication was delayed until this year. The museum features an ‘Oprah Winfrey Theater’ that will host museum programs, a robust exhibition from Essence Magazine and contributions from well-known artists and celebrities including Michael Jackson, Prince, Nat King Cole, Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Paul Robeson and more. Visitors will also get to see the countless contributions members of the black community have made to Hollywood and American film. If it all becomes too overwhelming, guests can take a break and gaze out of the museum windows at the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Museum campus from the Concourse level. The museum’s director, Lonnie Bunch, was inspired to start the museum by his experiences as a young black boy in a predominately white neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, the state’s largest city. Bunch spent nearly 11 years traveling the country fundraising for the museum that will have the largest display of artifacts and contributions from America’s Black community. When the museum opens 33,000 items will be on display out of about 37,000 collected so far. As Bunch observed photographs, pictures and other types of memorabilia to assemble the museum’s collection, he says he often compared his own experiences with the racial anxieties he felt in his less than diverse neighborhood. In his reflective moods he would often wonder what it
was like for African Americans to live in America at that time in history, if they were happy and if they were treated fairly. Bunch is also hoping that the nascent museum will be received fairly by the public but knows that some of its exhibits will be controversial. Comedian and actor Bill Cosby will have an exhibit there without detailing his recent sexual abuse allegations scandal. The museum will show highlights of President Obama’s presidency and chronicle the Black Lives Matter movement into the country’s sociopolitical narrative. One of the touchier subjects that’s sure to cause some visitor reaction is how the museum treats slavery. Bunch says he documented the experience in a balanced way that honors those who’ve made sacrifices, yet does not exploit the often gruesome institution. Yet, the museum is grounded by slavery, literally. Guests start their visit below ground in an exhibit called “Slavery and Freedom.” Artifacts include an auction block where for many, was the start of their journey during the transatlantic slave trade. The museum has also published a series of companion books with some of the exhibits called “Double Exposure” that’s being sold online. The visually captivating series highlights some of the challenges and dynamics of African-American life through photography while highlighting some of the most prominent activists, writers, historians and photographers in modern history. The photographs span from portraits taken from the pre-Civil War epoch to modern digital prints. The images capture scenes from the religious and oral traditions emanating from Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington to the Alabama march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. The showcased photographers captured pieces of history that shaped so much of American culture. The NMAAHC is the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian family. It officially opens to the public on September 24th.
Page 1: SEED KEEPERS NATIVE SEED CONSERVATI
Page 5 and 6: • If you enjoy everything about w
Page 7 and 8: and wine always present a great tim
Page 9: conference, this year’s theme foc
Page 13: IAS- Dine Diaspora is a contemporar
Page 16 and 17: The Palestinian Central Bureau of S
Page 18: ee, to put together a true Oktoberf
Page 24 and 25: gramming for others to do the same
Page 26: Tiffany Em is a trained dancer curr
Page 30 and 31: Brie’s first WWOOFing experience
Page 32: Though WWOOFing allows travelers to
Page 36 and 37: By Lincoln Park Coast Cultural Dist
Page 38 and 39: The history of Lincoln Park Music F
Page 40 and 41: straight into Lincoln Park with man
Page 43 and 44: We daresay that adventure and not v
Page 45 and 46: Sri Lankan food itself consists of
Page 49: Seeing the headlines demonize ‘so
Page 53 and 54: BABA BAOBAB TREE Calling Africa its
Page 55: IETY
Page 59 and 60: of sitting and talking with the com
Page 62 and 63:
BLACK CO-OPS
Page 64 and 65:
BLACK COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS DURING
Page 66 and 67:
and a tunnel to the Mississippi Riv
Page 68 and 69:
Major Black Organizations and Coope
Page 71 and 72:
no idea that in the 30s, the Journa
Page 73:
Other Worlds is a women-driven educ
Page 78 and 79:
Black?” I knew that for me, as a
Page 80:
Airis the Chef started out in colle
Page 83:
TAS. GOLOSINAS. DULCES.
Page 86 and 87:
At the time the cacao bean was used
Page 88 and 89:
BLACK GIRLS DO WINE
Page 90:
trips require about a year of plann
Page 93:
Miah Daughtery, Ed.D has been an ed
Page 96 and 97:
done, this is still a business.”
Page 98:
and that takes a chef a long way. I
show all

GRIOTS REPUBLIC - AN URBAN BLACK TRAVEL MAG - SEPTEMBER 2016

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?