“Juneteenth: Resilience and Freedom” Event At Chrysler Museum of Art

NORFOLK

For the second year, The Virginia African-American Cultural Center, the New Journal and Guide, and the Chrysler Museum of Art partnered to present a community event at the Museum centering on African-American History.

In 2023, the partners sponsored an event during Black History Month. This year, on June 8, they recognized and celebrated the Juneteenth holiday through art, song, historical accounts, and storytelling under the theme “Juneteenth: Resilience and Freedom.”

The day’s activities began with a Pre-Program Art Tour with Docent Guide Barbara Higgins and ended with a reception in the Kaufman Theater lobby.

On hand to welcome attendees to the theater and to introduce the program was Michael Berlucchi, Community and Government Relations Manager for the Museum.

Historian Dr. Cassandra Newby- Alexander of Norfolk State University provided an overview of Juneteenth, which stands for June 19th, the day in 1865 in Galveston, Texas that finally meant freedom for the Black population still enslaved under the rule of the Confederacy after the end of the Civil War.

Through the voice of 19th century emancipator Frederick Douglass, Nathan Richardson delivered an engaging account of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. He was followed by “Art Talk: Resilience in Art,” presented by Stacey Shelnut-Hendrick, the Museum’s Deputy Director for Public Engagement and Learning, who displayed several thought-provoking art pieces from the Museum’s collection highlighting African-American history.

Grammy Nominated Performance Artist Amber Garrett offered her renditions of “My Dream” and “My Soul’s Been Anchored In The Lord” to an approving audience.

A presentation “Unfiltered Black History: Photos and Stories of the New Journal and Guide” was given by  Brenda H. Andrews, Publisher and Owner of the New Journal and Guide, and  Publisher’s Assistant Desmond Perkins, outlining a three-year special project underway on preserving the newspaper’s archival photos and stories to be introduced in late 2024.

Offering the closing remarks was Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond, Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Virginia African-American Cultural Center which is building a center to showcase African-American legacy and history locally and throughout the state and nation.