“The letters became words, the words became thoughts, and those thoughts became my voice. I may not remember the name I was given when I was born, but I found my voice, one that no one could take away.”
– Phillis Wheatley
To mark the 100th Anniversary of Carter G. Woodson’s Black History Month (previously known as Negro History Week) the community came together to join The Givens Foundation for African American Literature and The Givens Collection of Literature and Life in celebration.
LISTEN
In this episode Lissa welcomes esteemed guests, and leads a tour with curator Davu Seru of the traveling exhibit “The African American Freedom Tradition” which begins with the oldest book by an African American poet and moves through the autobiographies of formerly enslaved people, and into a modern renaissance in African American arts and scholarship that led to the formal celebration of African American history.
The celebration concludes with a special appearance of Phillis Wheatley, as performed by Neah Logan. (Coached by Danielle Daniel, costuming by the Guthrie Theater),
Watch
Learn
The traveling exhibit includes examples of work from the Givens Collection of Literature and Life housed at the University of Minnesota Libraries.
For inquiries contact:
Davu Seru, serux001@umn.edu
Enjoy
Black Market Reads is a Project of the Givens Foundation for African American Literature, Our production team for this episode includes co producers Lissa Jones and Edie French, technical director Paul Auguston, the voice Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration Ta-coumba T. Aiken.