Based on the understanding that race is an ideology performed on a daily basis, this conference will investigate how and why performances of race are manifested or subverted in African American visual culture. The panels include “Race and Museum Practices,” “Race and Abstraction,” and “Performance in/of Contemporary African American Art.” The symposium will begin with keynote speaker Dr. Richard Powell of Duke University, on Wednesday, September 15th at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.  The conference will continue on September 16th between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union Building on the University of Maryland College Park campus.

The Sept. 15 Keynote Lecture is FREE for the first 40 people to register, and the Sept. 16 Symposium is FREE with registration.

For more information, click here or call the David C. Driskell Center at 301.314.2615.

The D.C. based organization Men Can Stop Rape has come up with an interesting and simple way to engage teenage boys- free pizza. Kedrick Griffin, the Senior Director of Programs, leads the year long programs, gently titled “Men of Strength” or MOST Club. The activist organization keeps things intentionally vague in the beginning, so as not to scare off the teens with their true intentions: to challenge the patriarchal structure the boys have grown up in. The weekly club meetings begin with, of course, pizza and soda, followed by a “check-in”- a time for the teens to reflect on what is going on in their lives. Griffin uses this open dialogue to segue into heavier topics, like understanding rape culture and respecting women. The idea is to slowly change the perspectives of these young men, in hopes that gender relations in D.C. schools will begin to shift.

More here.

For more on male feminism and men’s work against sexual violence, check out the work of Jackson Katz.

Washington D.C. is both living illusion and allusion. Being the center of U.S. bureaucracy, power, and wealth, D.C is also the epicenter of American poverty. The very most powerful and wealthy live next door (well not exactly) to some of those most greatly exploited, oppressed, and neglected.

A fitting representation of the functions of the system therein, D.C. is the home to the nation’s highest infant mortality, teenage pregnancy, and AIDS infection rates. Sixteen percent of local children live far below the poverty line, while our governmental leaders tangle with one another for greater power and money, while millions of tourists per year grace the marble steps and golden pillars on which our nation was built with the blood, sweat, and tears of those most deprived of the bounties of American “capital.”

Kike Arnal has provided a powerful photo essay expressing the contradictions of our nation as represented by Washington, D.C.

“In the Shadow of Power” exposes the “sobering statistics” that “suggest mental images not normally associated with the seat of American democracy…most people, even most residents of Washington, hardly notice the harsh reality that underlies these statistics. Tourists enjoy the stately architecture, many museums and stunning monuments and the professional class circulates largely between upscale or newly gentrified neighborhoods and their workplaces. Elements indicative of failure or hardship and those of apparent success seldom intersect in Washington. The images in this booklet reflect…ongoing explorations of the city, and…all of Washington in purposeful swings across its social and cultural landscape.”

To see these images visit Kike Arnal’s website, click on Features, then scroll to find “In the Shadow of Power: Life in the World’s Most Powerful Capital.”

Charta has published the photos in book form with a forward by Fred Ritchin and an introduction by Ralph Nader. You can purchase the book at Artbook.

Better yet, if you live in the D.C. area, come to Busboys and Poets at 2021 14 St. N.W.  tonight at 6 p.m. and see Kike Arnal and Ralph Nader speak about the project, sign books, etc. The event is free and open to the public.

On the occasion of the U.S. national holiday in his honor, below is a recording of Dr. Martin Luther King most well-known speech.

From the Wikipedia entry for Martin Luther King: “I Have A Dream” is the popular name given to the public speech in which Dr. King spoke of his desire for a future where blacks and whites among others would coexist harmoniously as equals. Dr. King’s delivery of the speech on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement.”

[Cross-posted to The Data Stream.]

And from another great address:

“And the leaders of the world today talk eloquently about peace. Every time we drop our bombs in North Vietnam, President Johnson talks eloquently about peace. What is the problem? They are talking about peace as a distant goal, as an end we seek, but one day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. All of this is saying that, in the final analysis, means and ends must cohere because the end is preexistent in the means, and ultimately destructive means cannot bring about constructive ends.”

Martin Luther King, Jr., “A CHRISTMAS SERMON” 24 December 1967

In a hip hop and R’n’B world dominated by men and noted for misogyny, the unstoppable female lyricists of Say My Name speak candidly about class, race, and gender in pursuing their passions as female MCs. This worldwide documentary takes viewers on a vibrant tour of urban culture and musical movement: from hip hop’s birthplace in the Bronx, to game on London’s eastside.

Featuring interviews from a diverse cast of women including Remy Ma, Rah Digga, Jean Grae, Erykah Badu, Estelle and newcomers Chocolate Thai, Invincible and Miz Korona, this powerful documentary delves into the amazing personal stories of women balancing professional dreams with the stark realities of poor urban communities, race, sexism and motherhood. The more then 18 artists featured in Say My Name battle for a place in a society that creates few changes for women. From emerging artists filled with new creativity, to true pioneers like MC Lyte, Roxxanne Shante, and Monie Love, these are women turning adversity to art.

More here.

Showing 12:00 pm, Wednesday, November 29 at Montgomery College, Takoma Park Campus, HC 122

Strange Comfort at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, tomorrow through August 8, 2010.

Washington Post review.

This Saturday starting at 2:30, the National Gallery is hosting an afternoon with distinguished documentary filmmaker George C. Stoney, including screenings and a dialogue with Patricia Aufderheide, professor at American University’s Center for Social Media. Stoney is also known as the progenitor of community access television.

Our good friends at Life Pieces to Masterpieces, an arts and leadership program for young black men in DC, was vandalized over the weekend.  Help them get things back on track by making a contribution here.

Article here.

One Million Bones is a ambitious art intervention designed to raise both awareness of the millions of victims killed as a result of ongoing genocides occurring on our watch. The bones, made from a variety of materials by artists, students, activists and citizens, will flood the National Mall in Washington, DC creating a “visual demand” for a solution to this global issue.

Each bone will be submitted with a $5 donation targeted to beneficiary organizations that work to aid displaced and vulnerable victims of genocide. For information about how to make or submit a bone, visit the “Bones” section of the webpage. They also accept donations without bones.