The MARYLAND PENDULUM The Newsletter of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture Fall 2021
EMBRACING OUR PAST TO PREPARE FOR OUR FUTURE The Commission Celebrates and Commemorates African American Cultural Traditions! Welcome to the Fall edition of the Pendulum. Our theme this quarter is Celebrations and Commemorations. Doesn’t that bring a smile to your face? It does to mine. I grew up in a family where we took celebrating seriously. We celebrated all the traditional holidays – Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and the 4th of July and we celebrated them big. All the family was invited – immediate and extended. There was lots of food, lots of music, plenty of loud talking, and a whole lot of laughter. Birthdays were no exception. My mother always cooked my favorite meal – pepper steak and rice and my favorite homemade chocolate cake. There were also the births of a new baby, the purchase of a new home, bringing home a great report card, my brother making weight to play little league sports. Each of these things was cause for celebration. Celebrations are a way for us to come together as a family to simply recognize moments that were special and important to us, that mattered, and we didn’t want it to slip by unnoticed. Though many of the elders of my family who hosted these celebrations have transitioned beyond this life, the memories they created for us as children continue to linger. Commemorations function in much the same way by creating memories. Throughout time people have commemorated special places and events that had value or historical significance. Religious groups erected sacred stones to honor their gods, while governments held ceremonies to honor
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treaties between nations. These were all done to mark milestones and serve as reminders to those who came along later. This edition of the Pendulum will highlight Juneteeth celebrations and International Underground Railroad Month commemorations. These celebrations and commemorations allow us to pause collectively to reflect on where we have been and what we have accomplished as a people. They also encourage us to continue using our voices, talents, and ultimately our dollars to ensure that we climb even higher. I hope the information leaves a smile on your face and inspires you to celebrate. Peace and Blessings to You, Tamara E. Wilson, Chair MCAAHC
STUDENTS CONTINUE A TRADITION OF CREATIVE RESEARCH AT MARYLAND HISTORY DAY By Stephanie Boyle, Program Officer, Maryland History Day and MD Voices, Maryland Humanities
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Each year, The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture celebrates young historians around the state through the sponsorship of a Special Prize at the annual Maryland History Day contest. Maryland History Day, a state affiliate of National History Day (NHD) and a program of Maryland Humanities, is a year-long history education program for grades 6-12. The program combines project-based learning and a research-centered model to encourage skills-driven history and civics education. Each year more than 25,000 middle and high school students across Maryland immerse themselves in research, creating original documentaries, exhibits, performances, research papers, or websites that explore a breadth of historical topics within an annual theme. History Day culminates in the presentation, evaluation, and celebration of these projects at school, district, state, and national history day events. In addition to coordinating the state contest, Maryland History Day staff provide professional development for teachers, partner with district coordinators who operate the program and support contests at the local level. The Commission sponsors the Award for Excellence in African American History, recognizing two projects that include exemplary research on the history and culture of African Americans. In 2021, Camille Mbanwi was awarded this prize at the junior level (6-8 grade) and Jaina Dotson was awarded at the senior level (9-12 grade) for their explorations into the annual theme, Communication in History: The Key to Understanding. Both students attend Prince George’s County Public Schools and were awarded a $150 prize and commemorative plaque as recognition for their achievement. Camille's paper was titled African Americans and Music: Their Cries for Justice and in her words, “was about African Americans using music to portray their injustice and get their point across to society that change must happen. Lyrics of protest songs and explanations of those lyrics were used to have a deeper understanding of what African Americans went through. My project tells the story of their fight for freedom.” Jaina created a documentary for her project titled Communication in History: Posters and Protest Signs in the Black Freedom Struggle. According to Jaina, her documentary, “focuses on how African Americans during the black freedom struggle used protest signs and posters to convey powerful messages, to advocate for the creation of important new laws, to repeal damaging laws, and to spread awareness of crucial issues due to the atrocities that they faced.”
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As the new school year begins, we look forward to seeing what projects will win the Award for Excellence in African American History exploring the 2022 theme, Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.
PG PARKS CELEBRATES 15 YEARS OF JUNETEENTH DENNIS DOSTER, PhD, Black History Program Manager, Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
Building upon the success of its first-ever virtual Juneteenth festival in 2020, the Department of Parks and Recreation for Prince George’s County transitioned to a hybrid celebration for 2021, which combined virtual and in-person events over the course of a week. For over 15 years, the Department has organized this annual countywide celebration of Juneteenth, drawing thousands of attendees each year. Planning efforts are led by the M-NCPPC Black History Program supported by staff within the Arts and Cultural Heritage Division and the Natural and Historical Resources Division. The festival is part of an ongoing mission within the Department to honor and celebrate black history and culture year-round. Virtual highlights of the 2021 celebration included a panel discussion that addressed historical trauma and the black experience, an exhibition of the work of Prince George’s County fiber artist Andi Cullins,
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and the annual Footprints and Roots conference organized by the Prince George’s County Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. In addition to these virtual offerings, in-person drive-thru events were held at Montpelier Arts Center, the Ridgeley Rosenwald School, and Oxon Hill Manor on Friday, June 18th where attendees were given free Juneteenth celebration kits. These kits contained a variety of giveaways and historical information and recipes, enabling recipients to plan their own Juneteenth celebrations at home with family and friends. The following day, June 19th, these three sites hosted small in-person Juneteenth celebrations featuring activities led by Creative Suitland, Words Beats & Life, and Step Afrika. Concurrently, the Department hosted a virtual “DJ Battle” with two popular and accomplished DJs in the DMV: DJ Lance Reynolds and DJ Miss H.E.R. organizations that administer it are valued partners in this work.
SECRETARY SCHULZ DELIVERS GOVERNOR’S INTERNATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD MONTH PROCLAMATION
By Heather Ersts, Partnership and Outreach Manager, Maryland Department of Tourism and Shirl Spicer, Countywide Museum Manager, Montgomery Parks
Maryland Secretary of Commerce Kelly Schulz was a featured speaker at the proclamation event for the Third Annual International Underground Railroad Month (IUGRRM). The commemoration began in September 2019 by the Maryland Office of Tourism as a way to recognize Maryland as the Most Powerful Underground Railroad Storytelling Destination in the World.The 2021 event includes participation by the National Park Service, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the Canadian Government, and sites across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Guyana, and Brazil. The launch ceremony was held at the Josiah Henson Museum & Park with Secretary Schulz delivering the proclamation by Governor Larry Hogan. The event also included Canadian Embassy Minister Martin Loken; Senator Susan Lee; U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin; Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich; and musical performances by Washington Revels Jubilee Voices. In addition to marking the start of IUGRRM, the event also celebrated the Josiah Henson Museum & Park being named the
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National Park Service Network to Freedom’s first sister site, joining the Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site in Ontario, Canada, to tell the remarkable story of Reverend Josiah Henson whose autobiography inspired the abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. To read more about Governor Hogan’s proclamation, follow this link; for more about and how to participate in International Underground Railroad Month follow this link; and for travel ideas for the Underground Railroad in Maryland, visit the “Open For Heroes” page at VisitMaryland.org.
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Andrew Ellicott & Benjamin Banneker Mural Project Historic Mural Conservation Project
Celebrate the life and legacy of Benjamin Banneker - the Banneker-Douglass Museum’s namesake. Banneker was born in Ellicott Mills, MD on November 9, 1731 free from enslavement. A self-taught mathematician and astronomer, Benjamin Banneker was hired to assist in surveying Washington, DC. William A. Smith’s 1968 mural entitled “Andrew Ellicott & Benjamin Banneker Surveying the Boundaries of the District of Columbia” captures this historic moment. The mural hung in the Maryland House Travel Plaza for 44 years until the State Roads Commission (predecessor to the Maryland Transportation Authority) donated it to the Banneker-Douglass Museum in 2016. The mural is currently undergoing conservation in preparation for display at the Banneker-Douglass Museum in February 2022. Visit www.bdmuseum.maryland.gov/donate/ to donate to the conservation efforts!
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MEET THE COMMISSIONER: IRIS LEIGH-BARNES, PhD Each issue of the Pendulum will highlight one of the members of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. Dr. Iris Leigh Barnes is an experienced and award-winning museum professional, historian, and educator. Her scholarship interests range from Civil War to Civil Rights with a particular focus on the tenacity and resilience of African Americans who survived and thrived against the odds. She was appointed to the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture by. Governor Larry Hogan in 2017 in which she represents Harford County. She also serves as a commissioner on the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission representing the Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum and Harford County Historic Preservation Commission, the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, and the Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center Board of Directors. She is an adjunct professor in the history departments at the University of Delaware and Morgan State University teaching Museum Studies. As the Executive Director of Hosanna School Museum in Darlington and the Curator of the Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum in Baltimore, she specializes in developing inclusive museum narratives, public programming, and educational curriculum. Dr. Barnes has been successful in getting three sites included in the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in her home county, Harford County Maryland and one site added to the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore. Her book, Sacrificing Margaret Morgan: The Kidnapping and Events Leading to Prigg v. Pennsylvania (forthcoming 2022, Johns Hopkins University Press) looks at a familiar Supreme Court case from a new vantage point and explores the theoretical and experiential notions of slavery and freedom in the Upper Chesapeake. She earned her Ph.D. in History and her M.A. in Museum Studies and Historical Preservation from Morgan State University; and her B.F.A. in Graphic Design and Art Education from Tyler School of Art | Temple University.
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ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS The Pendulum is the official newsletter of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and accepts submissions of articles for inclusion in the newsletter at the following email: mcaahc@gmail.com. Submissions should be original articles, exclusive to the Pendulum and offer an engaging and authoritative take on a historical or cultural subject related to African American History in Maryland. Articles can be submitted from scholars, the general public, and Commissioners. We are particularly interested in articles that feature the historic sites that have been supported by the AAHPP grant. The newsletter committee reserves the right to select which submissions are published and the right to edit those submissions. The Newsletter Committee is comprised of the following MCAAHC Commissioners: Iris Leigh Barnes, PhD Maya Davis Lopez Matthews, Jr., PhD
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