History ACTIVE 2014: the African Diaspora and the Americas Today

From June 23-27, 2014, the Museum hosted HistoryACTIVE, its 5-day summer learning institute for students looking to further their knowledge on key historical aspects. This year, HistoryACTIVE focused on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the African Diaspora, encouraging students to reflect and think upon how the African Diaspora impacts the Americas today. 

Each day the students were presented with information on different aspects of the African Diaspora including an introduction to slavery and the diaspora that featured a presentation from Amad Shakur, director of the Center for the African Diaspora, on Monday, June 23. On Tuesday, students looked at the history and Africanity of music with a drumming session from the McCrorey YMCA senior drummers, a field trip to the Latibah Collard Green Museum, and a learning concert from Toni Tupponce and A Sign of the Times. Wednesday was designated as a food and art day including a cooking demonstration with Mert’s Heart and Soul owner James Bazzelle and a visit to the Mint Museum of Art on Randolph followed by a mask-making activity with Catherine Courtlandt-McElvane. Thursday’s activities rounded out the week of learning with dance sessions from LaTanya Johnson of The Sycamore Project and presentations from Charlotte Capoeira and S and A Peruvian dancers. 



From the knowledge they gained throughout the week, the students created a showcase on Friday to celebrate what they learned and the connections they made.

All of the students had presentations that showed how they saw Africa in their daily lives. Participant Anna Azaglo said, “From History ACTIVE I have learned that most things come from Africa. The art I see, the beats I hear, and the dances I do. I see Africa’s influence in everyday things that most people do not see. Africa is everywhere and it has opened my eyes.”


When Anna first showed up at the Levine Museum of the New South to participate in the HistoryACTIVE program, she was very quiet and reserved. By Friday, for her showcase, she blossomed and had everyone in the room on their feet and dancing the “Azonto,” a contemporary Ghanaian dance, and having a good time. Another 12 students, along with Anna, presented showcases that were all unique, informative and fun in their own way.

The fun does not stop there. HistoryACTIVE students will have a chance to partake in a 3-day long bus trip to Charleston, South Carolina from July 14-16. In Charleston, the students will see first-hand how the African Diaspora affected the South. Activities will include tours of plantations, historic sites and museums, and the S.C. Sea Islands. 

It’s just one more extension of the learning and the reason Anna has already signed up to take the trip, “HistoryACTIVE is a program that will teach you and open your eyes, so you can see the real world.”

***
written by Shantel Johnson, History ACTIVE Intern

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, tag us on Instagram and like us on Facebook. Share with your community and leave a comment below. 

Guest Blogger: Patricia Atilano Co-organizer of The Changing South: Women in Poetry & local writer

Being a women in any part of the world, is a passionate challenge that transforms with supreme beauty in her environment.  Woman is beauty, and beauty is woman.

The Changing South: Women in Poetry, is an event by Levine Museum of the New South to celebrate all women. These six amazing women will speak in Libertad from different parts of the earth. They will unite to share with us their experiences, their stories, and their battles. They make a symbolic relay to exorcise their natural fears, from their powerful identity and inspire us with their creative capacity through one of their manifestations of the arts; Poetry.


Let’s surround these women with attitude that celebrate their femininity, their strength, and life itself!

Ser mujer en cualquier parte del mundo, en cualquier sociedad es un reto apasionante que transforma con suprema belleza su entorno.  Mujer sinónimo de belleza, y belleza sinónimo de mujer.  

The Changing South: Women in Poetry, es un evento del Museo Levine del Nuevo Sur (Levine Museum of the New South) para celebrar a todas las mujeres.

Estas seis mujeres luchadoras que conversan en libertad, de diferentes partes del mundo, se unen para compartir con todos nosotros, sus experiencias, sus historias, y sus luchas.

Hacen un simbólico relevo, un ejercicio de exorcismo de su medio natural, de su ponderosa identidad, y que nos inspiran con su capacidad creadora, a través de una manifestación de las artes; la poesía.

Contagiémonos de la actitud de estas mujeres, que celebran su feminidad, su fuerza y la vida misma.

by Patricia Atilano

Co-organizer of The Changing South: Women in Poetry & local writer

Join us this evening for a special poetry presentation at 5:30p.m.  

Share your story below.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, tag us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Ask an Artist! Out of the Shadows: Undocumented and Unafraid

Out of the Shadows: Undocumented and Unafraid is a participatory art project, conceived and orchestrated by artist Annabel Manning. Immigrant youth from Charlotte and the Triangle area of North Carolina collaborated with Manning to create portraits, which were then digitally altered to portray the youth's visible and invisible status simultaneously.  Compelling and personal, the pieces featured in the exhibit demonstrate how art can be a deliberative and imaginative forum for exploring complex issues about immigrant labor, education, and legal status.

Please meet artist and activist, Annabel Manning

What impact do you hope “Out of the Shadows” will have on the public?
I hope that the artwork in Out of the Shadows: Undocumented and Unafraid will show the public how it feels to be in this state of being invisible and without rights. 

I am also interested in the complicity that all the documented (myself included) should feel for the predicament of the undocumented because we are partially responsible for it. I believe all U.S. citizens are complicit because we are benefiting from the work and culture of the Latinos and because, directly or indirectly, we help to make or keep them invisible. My hope is that the public will develop a sense of responsibility for this issue and fight for the rights that the undocumented youth deserve.

How has this Movement changed you? 
The visibility in the general public in North Carolina that the student youth have attained thus far has inspired me to expand this project.  The goal is to provide even more Latino undocumented youth (and their families) with art tools that allow them to express themselves visually and to engage the public in discussions or confrontations about the youth’s specific dreams and demands for immigration reform. 

How did you choose the medium for your artwork?
The show includes photographs, sunprints, monoprints, and a digital installation (with camera, mirror and projection) – all reflecting the youth’s experiences of feeling invisible in their communities, outside their families and friends, separating them into two selves: how they see themselves versus how others see them. This theme emerged from my discussions with them and then we adopted the mediums to capture it in multiple ways.

What does activism mean to you?
To be able to create participatory art activities with communities like Immigrant Youth Forum (IYF) and United 4 the Dream (U4TD) to engage the public in discussions or confrontations about the youth’s dreams, fears, and demands regarding civil rights, education, labor, and citizenship. 

Out of the Shadows: Undocumented and Unafraid is on display now through June 29, 2014.

Tell us below what does activism mean to you.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, tag us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Ask an Artist!: View From The Other Side

View from the Other Side features local artists' response to the previous exhibit, Network of Mutuality: 50 Years Post-Birmingham. The artists created pieces working within the topic of Civil Rights struggles in our region. Both exhibits are a part of the Museum's two-year series, Destination Freedom: Civil Rights Struggles Then and Now. To bring further insights into the exhibit, we took the opportunity to ask the artists about their artwork, what in history inspired them to create it and what they hope guest gain from their art. 

Next up: Rosalia Weiner, Local Artist and Founder of Project Art Aid


What part of history inspired your artwork?
My work is heavily influenced by current events. In my view, what is happening with immigrant rights, immigration reform, and the rise of Hispanic culture in America is historic.

What do you hope guest experience when viewing your artwork?
I hope that guest experience the vibrant colors of my Mexican culture, and I also hope that my work broadens their perception of immigration issues.

What role does the community play in your art?
The community plays a very important role in my work. My work is often based on their stories and experiences, and art is my tool for giving voice to the issues that are affecting us. 

What other imagery/stories do you explore within your work?
I have also told love stories with my art. In a recent commission, I narrated the story of a couple and blended family, with images detailing the places where they were from, where they met, and distinct aspects of their personalities and style. 

Come view Rosalia and other's artwork in the View from the Other Side exhibit at the Levine Museum, on display through February 2, 2014. 

Tell us what you think of Rosalia's work in the comments below and share with your friends!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, tag us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Destination Freedom: Civil Rights Struggles Then and Now

2013 marks the year of many anniversaries of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. The most famous of these anniversaries will include the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., gave his “I Have a Dream" speech.

Dr. King, March on Washington, 1963

To commemorate that event and the various other civil rights anniversaries from Alabama to Mississippi to North Carolina, Levine Museum of the New South will begin a series of exhibitions and programs known as Destination Freedom that will highlight the aims of the Civil Rights movement then, and the issues we face today.

Destination Freedom will create a cohesive history of the movement for civil rights and the parallels to today. One exhibit in the series, Network of Mutuality: 50 Years Post-Birmingham will be the first that will bring to life—through art—what Birmingham in 1963 meant for the nation. This exhibit will coincide with our film series that will document many different facets of the movement.

With movies such as "4 Little Girls," (screenings are scheduled for Sept. 5 and 8) which tells of the life of the tragic death of 4 little girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, the film series offers a chance to learn about history and then participate in discussions with community members and scholars about what the stories can teach us.

To raise the banner about all of our programming, one month from today on September 15, the Levine Museum will host its Destination Freedom kickoff; featuring keynote speaker Diane Nash, former SNCC organizer.  Along with Nash there will also be a panel of Civil Rights activists representing “then” and “now.”  All will share their stories of activism during the 1960’s and what the fight looks like today.

Want to attend the opening? Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/LevineMuseum to get more Destination Freedom details.

Join the conversation and exploration of civil rights (then and now) on Twitter @LevineMuseum. Follow along using the hashtag #DestinationFreedom.