DuSable Museum Announces Extension of Freedom’s Sisters Essay Contest
“Freedom’s Sisters” Essay Contest
“Who is your favorite Freedom Sister and why?”
What are you doing to continue her legacy?
(250 – 500 words)
Eligible Participants: 4th-8th grade students
Prizes:
*1st place: $5,000 U.S. Savings Bond
2nd place: $2,500 U.S. Savings Bond
3rd place: $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond
1st, 2nd & 3rd runners-up:
one (1) $500 U.S. Savings Bond each*
CONTEST OPEN:
January 23, 2010 – March 16, 2010
Essays Should Be Mailed To:
Ford Motor Company
ATTN: Freedom’s Sisters Essay Contest – Chicago
1 American Road – 211 WHQ, Dearborn, MI 48126
Please include name, school, grade level, and contact information.
Winners will be notified on March 26, 2010.
Freedom’s Sisters, an exhibition created by Cincinnati Museum Center, organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Exhibition Services (SITES), and made possible through the generous support of Ford Motor Company Fund.
28 DAYS OF BLACK
Black Americans, like any other person or group want their history to be respected, not just tolerated.
February, Black History Month. Twenty-eight days. Four weeks for people, organizations and businesses to acknowledge what we refer to at the DuSable Museum of African American History as the “other side of history.” Programs, events and acknowledgments that might not find a way on the agenda at any other time of the year surface during this month.
You might believe that Carter G. Woodson had a specific plan in mind when he came up with Negro History Week – and yes, you would be right. As the architect of Negro History Week, now Black History Month, Woodson wanted to challenge America to openly acknowledge and accept the rich contributions of African-Americans as an intricate part of this nation’s great history. Woodson laid the groundwork for all Americans to recognize that blacks were/are a viable part of the foundation, success and longevity of the United States. He not only wanted blacks to be proud of their history, but also for everyone to realize those contributions that were deliberately left out of history books – contributions that were never discussed or included in mainstream news. It was as much the desire of Woodson to get us to recognize the need to record black contributions in the development of the country as it was to correct gross distortions.
I have always wondered if this was Woodson’s only vision. And for years, I have never been certain. Because of Woodson, we do collectively acknowledge African-American contributions, but for only 28 days. Granted, this is 21 more days than Woodson’s original seven, but I cannot say with certainty that if Woodson were alive to see this great nation come together to pay attention to its diverse past (even for only 28 days), he would be completely satisfied. I believe that he would take some solace that the desire to celebrate black achievement is prevalent. However, I do believe that he would question why these collected contributions and achievements are not acknowledged for the remaining 337 calendar days of the year. Woodson would wonder if black history is still not being adequately taught in classrooms or recorded in history books.
Sadly, Woodson would learn that it is not. Black history is not a part of everyday life and learning. Now, the reasons for this continued separation of history, I can’t fit on this one page alone. Agreed, race relations in American have come a long way, but we still have miles to go. Whether Woodson is rolling over in his grave because of the lack of ongoing acknowledgment of black history or how it has been pigeonholed so easily and thought of for only 28 days of a year, I do not know.
Black Americans like any other person or group want their history to be respected, not just tolerated. If we as Americans are taught that our actions define what we are and not who we are then why, after more than 80 years since the inception of Negro History week, does society still see color as a measure of potential or definition? As long as that remains, black history will always be an afterthought, a tolerated celebration for 28 days.
We as Americans have a long road ahead of us toward not just racial equality, but mutual respect. No member of another ethnic group is defined by color. He or she is a doctor, not a white doctor, a lawyer, not an Italian lawyer, a businessperson, not a Jewish businessperson. Their actions define what they are.
African-Americans, however, are not extended the same pleasantry. We are seen as black doctors, black lawyers, black businessmen. America has yet to transcend the barrier of color for African-Americans. Has the acknowledgment of achievements of black people been so easily reduced to 28 days? Seventy-six years after Woodson created Negro History Week, 50 years after the turbulent civil rights movement and fewer than 30 years since Jim Crow laws of segregation, have we not learned that achievements in history are a shared American history? Would it be naïve to believe that we as Americans can celebrate all of the rich history offered by all who call themselves citizens 365 days a year?
Don’t get me wrong, celebrating one’s own heritage is necessary, because it promotes pride. But the overwhelming difference between acknowledging African-American history and that of any other ethnic group in America is that other history remains a constant point of reference throughout any given year. Mainstream history is still the dominant subject taught in schools and recorded in history books. I say that the acknowledgment of black history is greater than the sum of 28 days. Greater than the three or four African-Americans singled out and taught in schools during the month of February; Greater than programs that surface only once a year. We must learn to respect all of our shared history and engage in programs that highlight the achievements and contributions of all Americans.
As an American, I support this nation. As a historian, I respect the past. As an African-American, I marvel in my culture. But as a conscientious American, I want to learn about what made America, America. I want to learn about my history as an inclusive history. I want the next generation to know that blacks played a major role in the shaping of America. I want them to learn that Irish immigrants, though always free, toiled alongside enslaved African-Americans for the financial benefit of others. I want the youth to know that the Chinese helped forge and build the American West alongside Black and Mexican cowboys. I want them to learn about the hypocrisy of “freedom for all,” which referred only to the upper-class landowners and not the poor working-class whites, blacks and other immigrants. I want the next generation to know that history is, and must always be acknowledged respectfully among all people, all of the time, not just a month at a time.
Indeed, Black History Month is a time for celebration. Advertised properly, it promotes pride among many African-Americans. It allows all Americans a platform to remember the past and reflect on the future. The month offers us an open stage. A willing ear. Black History Month, in short, is an opportunity. We should appropriately celebrate Black History Month with educational programs that take place throughout the year. If we achieved this, I believe that Dr. Woodson would be proud.
This, I believe, is how you appropriately celebrate Black History Month. You remember. You respect. You acknowledge for 365 days, and then, only then, you celebrate for 28.
Carol L. Adams, PhD, appointed new CEO of DuSable Museum
The Board of Trustees of the DuSable Museum of African American History has announced the appointment of Carol L. Adams, PhD as the Chief Executive Officer of the Museum.
Dr. Adams brings to her new position a proven track record in the fields of grantsmanship, administration and organizational development. A consummate fund-raiser, Dr. Adams has raised a staggering total of almost $400 million for a diverse and varied group of institutions of higher learning, governmental agencies and not-for-profits. She was formerly the Chairman of the African American Studies Department at Loyola University; Director, The Center for Inner City Studies at Northeastern Illinois University; and most recently the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services. Upon making the announcement of Dr. Adams appointment, Cheryl Blackwell Bryson, Esq., Chairman of the Board of Trustees stated, “Carol is indeed a heavy-hitter. She comes with her own range of contacts not only from around the country, but also globally and she knows almost everyone who is relevant in not only the Museum and Cultural Arts communities, but also the worlds of commerce, politics and finance, so she will be able to create a very special synergy.”
General Colin Powell on Professor Gates & Racial Profiling
Earlier this month, Harvard Professor Henry “Skip” Gates returned home to find that his front door had jammed. When Gates jimmied the door to get inside, his neighbor called the police. The altercation between Gates and the Cambridge, MA police has made national news.
People from around the world have weighed in on the controversy. General Colin Powell gives his view in this 1-minute video:
What do you have to say? Have you ever been the victim of racial profiling?
DuSable Museum Celebrates The Life of Michael Jackson
“….Like a Comet
Blazing ’Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon
Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon
Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night
Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon
Like A perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon
Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night
Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon”
GONE TO SOON!
……..by Michael Jackson
