page 2 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Release date: Contact: Phone number:
1515 SE Monroe Street Topeka, Kansas 66612 (785) 354-4273 phone (785) 354-7213 fax www.nps.gov/brvb
News Release
For Immediate Release Joan Wilson (785) 354-4273
Hey Hey Hey! Animation Inspired Exhibit, Funky Turns 40, Opens at Brown v. Board Site Topeka, KS – Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is pleased to open a new exhibition, Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution, a nostalgic collection of images of black characters of popular cartoons of the 1970s. The exhibit is free and open to the public through July 30. Co-curated by cartoon aficionados Pamela Thomas and Loreen Williamson, Funky Turns 40 commemorates the 40th anniversaries of popular Saturday morning cartoons that featured positive black characters for the first time in television history and draws on collections from the Museum of Uncut Funk. “I believe these cartoons are national treasures,” says Thomas. “They were seen by a generation of children and not only changed the way that black kids saw themselves but the way white kids saw them as well.” Portrayals of blacks in comic strips and cartoon films in the 20th century were often racially derogatory and stereotyped. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Saturday morning television cartoons began to feature black animated characters in a positive and realistic manner. Fueled by the civil rights movement and commercial success of black musicians and athletes, television producers began to explore projects with wider, multicultural appeal. Bill Cosby’s Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids paved the way for a host of characters and shows featuring music icons, sports heroes, and multicultural casts like the The Jackson 5ive, Josie and the Pussy Cats, The Harlem Globetrotters and I Am the Greatest, featuring Muhammad Ali. For the first time, children saw black cartoon characters that looked and talked like real people, full of warmth, intelligence, and humor. The production of these cartoons also employed black animators, musicians, and actors – jobs that were traditionally filled by non-blacks who often approximated their understanding of black culture. Forty years later, the legacy of these revolutionary cartoons has eclipsed the stereotypical images that came before and paved the way for new productions like The Proud Family, Little Bill, Static Shock, Fillmore and Doc McStuffins. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site tells the story of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended legal segregation in public schools. The site is located at 1515 SE Monroe Street in Topeka, Kansas, and is open free of charge from 9 am to 5 pm daily, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. For more information call 785-354-4273 or visit www.nps.gov/brvb and www.facebook.com/brownvboardnps
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The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Paula Wilkes (423) 266-8658 pwilkes@bessiesmithcc.org
Hey Hey Hey! New Animation-Inspired Exhibit, Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution Firsts Panel Exhibition to Open at The Bessie Smith Cultural Center August 31, 2015—The Bessie Smith Cultural Center is pleased to present its latest exhibition, Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution Firsts Panel Exhibition, a nostalgic foray into the animated images of the black characters of popular cartoons of the 1970s. The exhibit will be housed in the museum, on display from September 1 – October 31, 2015. Co-curated by cartoon aficionados Pamela Thomas and Loreen Williamson, Funky Turns 40 commemorates the 40th anniversaries of popular 1970's Saturday morning cartoons that featured positive Black characters for the first time in television history. "I believe these cartoons are national treasures,” says Thomas. “They were seen by a generation of children and not only changed the way that Black kids saw themselves but the way White kids saw them as well". It was during the late 1960s / early 1970s that Saturday morning television cartoons began to feature Black animated characters in a positive and realistic manner. Fueled by the Civil Rights movement and the overwhelming commercial success of Black musicians and athletes during this time period, television producers began to explore projects with a wide, multicultural appeal. This new generation of Black characters were stars of their own series with a modern look and with contemporary story lines that delivered culturally relevant messages. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids paved the way for a host of Black characters and shows featuring music icons, sports heroes, and multicultural casts like The Jackson Five, Josie and The Pussy Cats, The Harlem Globetrotters, and I Am The Greatest (featuring Muhammad Ali). Even franchises like the overtly white Hardy Boys series and Super Friends began to introduce positive Black characters who worked side by side with their white counterparts. For the first time, children saw cartoon characters that looked and talked like real Black people, full of warmth, humor, and intelligence. These shows empowered a generation of children with cartoon role models who promoted family values, education, friendship, civic duty, personal responsibility and sportsmanship in fun, vibrant bursts of animation. The production of these cartoons also employed Black animators, musicians and actors - jobs that had traditionally been filled by non-blacks who often approximated their understanding of Black culture. It was also during this time that prominent African Americans led the development of animated television programming featuring Black characters, from concept through to art creation and production. Practically every piece of art in Funky Turns 40 features many black characters achieving historic firsts in television: Peter Jones - The Hardy Boys (1969) - First positive Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series
Valerie Brown - Josie And The Pussy Cats (1970) - First positive Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series Harlem Globetrotters (1970) - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series and first positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes The Jackson Five (1971) - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972-1985) - Longest running positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series. Verb - Schoolhouse Rock (1974) - First Black male superhero character in a cartoon - second Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black Characters. Astrea - Space Sentinels (1977) - First Black female superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series Forty years later, the legacy of these revolutionary cartoons has eclipsed the stereotypical images that came before and have paved the way for a new generation of Black animation like The Proud Family, Little Bill, Static Shock, Fillmore and Doc McStuffins! The Bessie Smith Cultural Center is located at 200 E Martin Luther King Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN. Hours of operation are Monday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 12:00 Noon – 4:00 p.m. Admission is $7 per adult and $5 for Student and Senior with ID, Children 6-12 $3 and Children under 5 are Free. Group rates (10 or more) are available. Call (423) 266-8658 for more information. ###
'Funky Turns 40' art exhibit at Black Cultural Center February 10, 2016 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — An art exhibit that features key animation art images from the late 1960s and '70s is now on display at Purdue University's Black Cultural Center. "Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution Firsts" will be at the BCC through March 31. The exhibit is free and open to the public during BCC's regular hours, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays. The exhibit is co-curated by Pamela Thomas and Loreen Williamson, who run the virtual Museum of Uncut Funk. "Thomas and Williamson are cartoon aficionados, and 'Funky Turns 40' commemorates the 40th anniversaries of popular 1970s Saturday morning cartoons that featured positive and realistic black characters for the first time in television history," said the Museum of Uncut Funk's website. "Fueled by the civil rights movement and the overwhelming success of black musicians and athletes during the period, television producers began to explore projects with a wide, multicultural appeal." The museum's website said shows like "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" paved the way for other black characters and shows featuring music icons, sports heroes and multicultural casts such as "The Jackson Five," "Josie and the Pussy Cats," "The Harlem Globetrotters" and "I Am The Greatest" (featuring Muhammad Ali). Shows like "Hardy Boys" and "Super Friends," which previously had overtly white casts, began to introduce positive black characters who worked side by side with their white counterparts, according to the museum's website. "These shows helped empower a generation of children with cartoon role models who promoted family values, education, friendship, civic duty, personal responsibility and sportsmanship in fun, vibrant bursts of animation," the museum's website said. "Forty years later, the legacy of these cartoons pioneered the way for a new generation of black animation like "The Proud Family," "Little Bill," "Static Shock," "Fillmore" and "Doc McStuffins." Writer: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu

PLAINFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY ____________________________________________" ***FOR%IMMEDIATE%RELEASE***% Date:% %
January%4,%2017%
Contact:%%
Sarah%Hull,%Head%of%Local%History% Plainfield%Public%Library% 908K757K1111,%x136% % Funky%Turns%40:%Black%Character%Revolution% FlatKPanel%Exhibition%
The"Plainfield"Public"Library"announces"a"new"guest"exhibit"from"the"Museum"of"Uncut"Funk," Funky&Turns&40:&Black&Character&Revolution."The"exhibit"commemorates"the"40th"anniversary"of" 1970s"Saturday"morning"cartoons"that"featured"positive"Black"animation"characters"for"the"first" time"in"television"history."The"pioneering"cartoon"characters"featured"in"this"exhibition"present" an"unheralded"legacy"of"the"Civil"Rights"Movement"and"several"animation,"American,"and"Black" History"firsts."" " This" flatMpanel" exhibit" has" traveled" to" the" AfricanMAmerican" Museum" in" Seattle," the" DuSable" Museum" of" AfricanMAmerican" History" in" Chicago," and" the" Schomburg" Center" in" Harlem."" Plainfield" Public" Library" is" pleased" and" honored" to" be" able" to" present" this" oneMofMaMkind," traveling"exhibit"to"the"residents"of"Plainfield"and"Union"County.""" " The"exhibit"will"kick"off"the"library’s"celebration"of"Black"History"Month"on"Saturday,"February" 4th.""There"will"be"an"opening"reception"and"curators’"talk"on"Saturday,%February%11th%at%10:30% am.""Visitors"are"encouraged"to"join"exhibit"curators"Loreen"Williamson"and"Pamela"Thomas"for" a"special"talk"about"the"importance"of"the"materials"found"in"this"exhibition." " This" program" is" open" and" free" to" the" public." Free" commemorative" buttons" will" be" given" to" program"attendees"on"February"11th"(as"long"as"supplies"last)."All"Ages"Welcome!" " Funky& Turns& 40:& Black& Character& Revolution" will" be" on" display" in" the" Anne" Louise" Davis" Room" (located"on"the"lower"level)"from"Saturday,"February"4"until"Friday,"March"31,"2017." " Funding" has" been" made" possible" in" part" by" the" New" Jersey" State" Council" on" the" Arts/Department"of"State,"a"Partner"Agency"of"the"National"Endowment"for"the"Arts,"through"a" grant"administered"by"the"Union"County"Office"of"Cultural"and"Heritage"Affairs." 800 Park Avenue Plainfield NJ 07060 908 / 757-2305 Fax 908/754-0063
www.plfdpl.info
% Plainfield" Public" Library" is" located" at" 800" Park" Avenue."" For" hours" of" operation," call" 908M757M 1111"or"check"the"website"at"plainfieldlibrary.info.&"" "
" IMAGE:& Jackson& Five,& Lt.& Uhura& (Star& Trek),& Fat& Albert& and& the& Cosby& Kids,& and& Valerie& Brown& (Josie& and& the& Pussy& Cats)." On" display" in" the" library’s" Anne" Louise" Davis" Room" Gallery" on" the" lower"level.&
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