Hosted by the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH
Saturday March 29, 2024 | 7-9 PM ET
An ekphrastic poem is a vivid poetic description of a scene, a work of art, or any other artistic genre, such
as film, music, or dance. Today, each poet has chosen a piece of artistic work by a Black artist and will read a poem they have written inspired by the piece of art. Each poem will be accompanied by a
photograph or other image representing the work of art.
Facilitated by Bonita Lee Penn
FEATURING READINGS FROM… Dr. Margaret Bristow Doralee Brooks Gwendolyn Mitchell Bonita Lee Penn Anita Russell
Saturday, February 10, 2024, from 11:30 AM ET to 1:00 PM ET A panel of Black female artists speak about their experiences as Black female artists. Discussion includes how they made history in 2022 exhibiting their art at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh PA.
Lynne b. is a Pittsburgh-based mixed media painter who also works with found objects and assemblage. A sometimes curator and researcher, she continues to work with underground film makers, writers and other visual artists in New York, Berlin and Australia. Besides Pittsburgh, Lynne has exhibited in New York and Berlin.
Janet Watkins is a self-taught artist. Her career began just a few years ago after retiring from a 30 year career in banking. She is a ceramic artist as well as a mosaic artist. She creates one of a kind beautiful, functional, sculptural pieces from clay and porcelain. She enjoys embellishing her work with salvage materials such as metals, bottle caps, vintage telephone wire and whatever else she finds in the trash. Each one of her hand-built pieces are uniquely whimsical and beautifully detailed. She was awarded Juror’s Choice the first time she exhibited her work in a gallery. She is a member of the Women of Visions Organization, and a member of the Craftman’s Guild of Pittsburgh, where she currently serves as a board member. She was a panel speaker during the 2023 National Ceramics NCECA Conference. She co-curated the 2023 MAVUNO Exhibit in Sewickley PA. Her works are amongst several Private Art Collections in the region. Many of her larger sculptural pieces have been exhibited in galleries including the Carnegie Museum of Art, Wilmer Jennings Gallery NYC, University of Pittsburgh Fine Art Gallery, Society of Contemporary Craft BYN, August Wilson Gallery, Moka Gallery, Kelly Strayhorn Art Gallery, Sewickley Library Art Gallery, Pittsburgh Center Arts & Media Gallery, and Touchstone Gallery.
Marlana Adele Vassar is a Pittsburgh artist whose philosophy of balancing style and substance has attracted a diverse audience to her work. She weaves symbolism and rich details into figures and patterns, resulting in works that are personal yet open to interpretation. Her artwork and process are implemented through traditional art techniques such as painting, drawing, and sculpture, which are often translated into designs and installations. Known for her lavish style and attention to detail, Vassar has earned numerous accolades for her works. Her art has been featured nationwide in museums, galleries, and public projects, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, The August Wilson Center for African American Culture, and The Urban Institute of Contemporary Art. Her most recent public projects include commissions with the City of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, and the City Theatre Company, along with many notable art projects and additions to private collections.
Dr. Mildred R. Mickle, Associate Professor of English at Penn State Greater Allegheny, specializes in African American Studies, American Studies, Creative Writing, Women’s Studies, Theatre, and Poetry. She is an amateur watercolorist, and she has been doing bellydancing and theatre performances when she can fit them into her busy schedule. She also is a member of Women of Visions, a collective of Black female artists that has been active for over 40 years. She has exhibited her paintings at the Hermann Museum, the Spinning Plate Gallery, Bunker Arts, Brew House Association, and the Carnegie Museum.
On Saturday, January 20, 2024, from 11:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie branch of ASALH presents an exciting and informative discussion led by Anita D Russell, Founder/CEO of The Place to SOAR and VP of Media Relations for the Branch.
Inspired by the “Genius is Common Movement”, Anita considers the evolution of the word “genius” and its connection to the whitewashing of Black genius. This community conversation includes a discussion of eugenics and hereditary misconceptions, race and intelligence in education, and the false belief of the intellectual superiority of one race over another.
“The Genius is CommonTM Movement is about tearing down the Berlin Wall of the word genius.” — Bruce George, Founder of the Genius is Common Movement, Co-Founder of Def Poetry Jam on HBO
About Anita D Russell, MEd, Founder/CEO The Place to SOAR
Anita’s professional career includes over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry in roles ranging from Drug Discovery and Science Education Management to Project Leadership and Diversity and Inclusion. Her post-corporate career reflects a passionate commitment to personal transformation and antiracism activation at the individual, organization, and community levels. Anita’s current work includes On Call Facilitator for the Center for Creative Leadership, partnership with The Forbes Funds, and creator/host of InflexionPoint Podcast.
She is the creator/host of InflexionPoint Podcast, a courageous space for conversations about antiracism, social transformation, and personal accountability. Her independent publications include I Wanna See Laney’s House and Cultivating Change from the Inside Out: The Power of Being Human. She also has multiple collaborative book projects under her belt from the Women Speakers Association Book Series, Voices of the 21st Century. Visit Books to SOAR By to learn more about her authorship. Anita is also the VP of Media Relations for the Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH.
On Saturday, November 11, 2023, from 11:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie branch of ASALH “Honors Our Veterans” with an exciting and informative presentation moderated by Richard A. Stewart, Jr.
Stew’s professional career included 30 plus years in law enforcement which began as an 8th grade safety patrolman in 1963, at St. Richard’s Catholic School. Richard served in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) (1966 – 1973). This included a tour in DaNang, South Vietnam (1968 – 1969) and 1970, the Military Police.
Upon being Honorably Discharged, Stew served 1 year working as an Allegheny County Jail Corrections Officer. In 1977, he joined the City of Pittsburgh Police Department where he worked for 1 ½ years. Richard, then, transferred to The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department, where he worked from August, 1978, through September, 2005. Upon retirement in 2005, as a Deputy Commander, he was the highest ranking African American in the Sheriff Department’s 200 year history.
Stew’s educational journey took 30 years, (1975 – 2005), to complete. On May 10, 2004, Richard received his Associate in Science, Administration of Criminal Justice Degree from The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) (Boyce Campus). His Bachelor of Science, Law Enforcement Degree on December 17, 2005, was obtained from Point Park University.
Richard’s community involvement includes more than 30 years with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as the current PA State Conference Western Sectional Director; President, former 1st Vice President, former Criminal Justice Committee Chairman, and former Membership Chairman of the Pittsburgh Branch; The PA State Conference NAACP Audit Committee Chairman, Executive Committee Member, and Vice Chairman Criminal Justice Committee. Richard is, also, a founding member of The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) Pittsburgh Chapter, former Vice President and the former treasurer. He was a former United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots program manager in Pittsburgh from 1986 to 1996. On April 30, 1999, Richard was a Chapel of Four Chaplains Recipient. Stew was a 2014- 2015 Jefferson Award Recipient, and has been a Freedom Unlimited Board Member for 20 plus years. Richard is, currently, a 2019 FBI Citizen’s Academy Graduate Alumni.
GRANTSVILLE, MD (October 12, 2023) – Members of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Pittsburgh Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History hosted a celebration today for the formal unveiling of the Historical Marker for Negro Mountain African American Historic Site in Garrett County. The marker commemorates an unknown African American frontiersman who died May 24, 1756, fighting alongside Col. Thomas Cresap during a battle against the Native American French allies.
Negro Mountain African American Historic Site Marker atop the National Road in Garrett County, Maryland, is a rare commemoration of African Americans’ role in the history of Colonial Maryland,” said Ronald B. Saunders, President of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life and History.”
“Negro Mountain African American Historic Site Marker atop the National Road in Garrett County Maryland is a rare commemoration of African Americans’ role in the history of Colonial Maryland. It also shows the unique collaboration among the Maryland Department of Transportation, Secretary’s Office, Dr. Artie Travis, Vice President of Student Affairs at Frostburg State University and the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life & History (ASALH)located in Pittsburgh Pa, to tell the story accurately of the brave Black frontiersman for which the mountain was named.”
Historic Marker Press Release, October 2023
On this auspicious day in the year of our Lord twenty twenty three, the Rankin Mon Valley Pittsburgh Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) would like to congratulate Mr. Ronald B. Saunders President of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH for its successful efforts in getting the first historical marker on Negro Mountain. We are impressed by your hard work and patience through this project. It has been a long time coming but is so necessary for the African American community as this designation bestows a sense of pride in our history…when so many seek to erase African American history.
October 2023 Dr. Cheryl R. McAbee, Esquire Rankin/Mon Valley/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Section NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN, INC.
Official Ceremony: October 12, 2023
Negro Mountain African American Historic Site Marker Ceremony on October 12, in Garrett County Maryland at high noon. This historic marker will reside on Negro Mountain in Garrett County, Maryland into perpetuity. Wherein this marker will sit atop Negro Mountain, which is the highest point on the National road. The National Road runs from the State of Maryland to the great state of Illinois.
You may also be advised that two Dr. Edna B. McKenzie signs sit atop Negro Mountain with the name of ASALH.
This is considered a major achievement of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) located in Pittsburgh Pa to preserve and to tell the story accurately of the Black/Colored/ Negro/ Afro-American/ African American frontiersman for which the mountain is named.
“History is often complicated, complex, and confusing.” —Unknown
Our most sincere congratulations are extended to Branch member Cody McDevitt for being the driving force in obtaining a historical marker for the banishment of African Americans from Johnstown Pa on September 7, 1923.
This was one of the greatest ethnic cleansings in the history of Pennsylvania. Please see the attached.
I plan on going to Johnstown Pa on November 9th at 12:00 noon to support Cody in this most important accomplishment. I will be departing from the Dollar Bank Parking lot at 10:00 AM at the Miracle Mile Shopping Center which is located in Monroeville Pa. We will take Route 22 to Johnstown.
Our Negro Mountain Historic Marker ceremony held on October 9, 2023 has been featured in many newspapers. We have been invited to be a part of several podcasts and a TV program. I would like to thank and congratulate all of you who participated in the planning and execution of the program and for all who attended.
Negro Mountain African American Historic Site in Garrett County Maryland is the first Black History Marker in Garrett County Maryland. Our Branch made history by changing forever the historical landscape in Garrett County Maryland.
On the forefront of digital strategy working at the intersections of faith & social justice, Jamye Wooten’s work has spanned the globe – advising nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and corporations in their efforts to engage their constituencies. More recently, Wooten, a co-founder of Baltimore United for Change, launched CLLCTIVLY in 2019, place-based social change organization using an asset-based framework to focus on racial equity, narrative change, social connectedness, and resource mobilization. CLLCTIVLY has mobilized over $1,000,000 to Black-led and Black-owned businesses in Greater Baltimore.
Biography
Jamye Wooten is the creator of the #BlackChurchSyllabus and the Black Theology Project 2.0. Launched in 2017, the Black Theology Project serves as a knowledge-base system curating theological resources for Black Lives. Jamye is the chair of the Black Church Food Security Network and serves on the board of trustees for Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary. He also sits on the advisory boards of the Center for Interreligious Engagement and Social Impact at Union Theological Seminary, Metro-Urban Institute at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race.
Jamye has organized and documented social movements from across the United States, United Kingdom, and Africa. He is the former program director of the Collective Banking Group, Inc. (CBG), a Christian ministry that draws together leaders from the faith, business, and public service sectors to develop and enhance economic empowerment strategies for the African American community.
“When we launched in 2019, folks said, ‘Why are you just focusing on black-led,'” CLLCTIVLY founder Jamye Wooten said. “When the pandemic hit, and the murder of George Floyd happened, people began to get it. People began to look for places where they could support black-led organizations.”
Laurence Glasco, a history professor at Pitt, and students in his History of Black Pittsburgh class traveled to the Woodville Plantation Wednesday evening and listened to Windhorst detail the lives of Western Pennsylvania slaves. Glasco takes his class to this plantation — which had the most slaves in Western Pennsylvania — every semester in order to expose them to black history in Pittsburgh that most people are not aware of.
“This trip tries to make the point that blacks were here from the very beginning of the city. They were here even before there was a city,” Glasco said.
IMPORTANT NOTE: THESE ARE VOLUNTEER POSITIONS. No specific degree or educational background is required. Individuals must be 16 years old or older.
Training and information is provided by the Neville House Associates (NHA). Additionally, docents are encouraged to conduct their own research as well. This information, once approved by the NHA, can be used to supplement the information given during tours. The NHA may provide and require appropriate uniform/clothing to be worn during tours.
Individual will lead tours of the house, ancillary buildings, and grounds during regularly scheduled hours of operation, as well as during special events, tours and rentals.
Individual should be able to competently and articulately communicate to visitors and public information regarding:
The history of Woodville/Bower Hill residences and farms, as well as information about the individuals who lived and worked there
The architecture and interiors of the Woodville house
The history of the Whiskey Rebellion, in particular the events at Bower Hill in 1794
General information regarding the time period interpreted at the Woodville site-1780 to 1820.
HISTORICAL INTERPRETER
Individual will recreate a persona, utilizing either first- or third-person interpretation techniques, to competently and accurately provide the account of an individual living during the period of 1780-1820 to the visitors of Woodville during regularly scheduled openings, special events, tours and rentals.
Additionally, historical interpreters may be the focus of special events held at the Woodville site.
An Historic Interpreter may recreate:
A particular individual who was associated with the Woodville/Bower Hill farms.
An individual who demonstrates a particular skill practiced during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
A particular individual who was relevant to the historic period interpreted.
Kris Manjapra works art the intersection of comparative global history and the critical study of race and colonialism.
Resistance as Community: “Practicing radical scholarship aimed at breaking down disciplinary boundaries and exploding the walls separating the university from larger and more diverse communities.
Biography
Dr. Kris Manjapra, Professor of History, Tufts University
Kris Manjapra, born in Bahamas, is professor of history at Tufts University, and is the author of 5 books on race, colonialism, and diaspora, including Colonialism in Global Perspective (Cambridge University Press).
He is the author of Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation (Penguin UK), recently shortlisted for the New England Book Prize. He founded the nonprofit, Black History in Action, devoted to the struggle against gentrification in Boston. He also works closely with Project South (Atlanta) and Southern Echo (Jackson) on community education initiatives, and serves on the Reparations Committee of Scholars for Social Justice.
“How could a people chronically hated still produce so many love warriors… Where did Harriett (Tubman) come from?” —Dr. Cornel West
“In America I was free only in battle, never free to rest.And he who finds no way to rest cannot long survive the battle.”—James Baldwin
The history of Black people is a history of resistance. But to continue the fighting, there must be healing. There must be living to fight another day. An analysis of Black studies reveals innumerable “Love Warriors” who wielded love in the face of savage oppression assaulting the spirit, minds and bodies of Black people,
Yet, Black destruction has been thwarted and is not eminent. Black people are a healing people, loving, living and fighting, time after time. We will explore examples in religion, (deliverers of transcendent faith messages); examples in the arts (Harlem Renaissance and Hip Hop); and examples in social activism, of healing resistors. One cannot endure or wage the freedom struggle without healing from persecution, violence, dehumanization and grief. Healing rooted in love, is essential to Black freedom.
Biography
Dr. Jonathan JeVon White was born in Norfolk, VA. He graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a B.A. in Political Science. He earned his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh specializing in modern U.S. and African American history. His dissertation examined Black jazz musicians in Pittsburgh before and after integration, and how collective memory re-imagines the past.
He is an Associate Teaching Professor at Penn State University Greater Allegheny. He has taught courses in history, African American studies and leadership development. He co-founded the Study of Hip-Hop Conference and the Stewart and Jones Scholar Leadership Program. He is a founding member of the Crossing Bridges committee which serves the surrounding community. In addition, he chairs the Anti-Racism Task Force at Penn State University Greater Allegheny. He is also creator of the Black Woman Reaffirmed video project. His upcoming album, “Love Algorithms”, is an eclectic mix of poetry, hip-hop and spoken word.
Dr. White is a board member of the Langston Hughes Poetry Society. In addition, he served as lead instructor of the Full Armor Institute, mentoring young Black men at Mt. Olive Baptist Church. Moreover, Dr. White has conducted Black history workshops and seminars on living a vibrant lifestyle that synthesizes faith and the pursuit of social justice.
Dr. White was awarded the Dr. James Robinson Equal Opportunity Award honoring those who fight for equity atPenn State in 2021. He received the highly competitive Atherton Excellence in Teaching Award in 2021 as well. Finally, in 2022, Dr. White was a Pittsburgh Courier Men of Excellence honoree. He was recognized for his contributions in the field of education.
Virtual Meeting via ZOOM: Register in advance for this meeting.
DR. EDNA B. MCKENZIE BRANCH OF ASALH 