These 30 black men changed the course of American history
Through their words, work and deeds, black men have long been forging American culture. A traveling exhibit now on display at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma illustrates how 30 African American men contributed to and altered American life in the 20th and 21st centuries.
“Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth.” is on display at the museum through March 15.
The show, created by the Smithsonian Institution, highlights both living and historical figures. W.E.B. Du Bois shares equal time with author Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Curated by Marquette Folley and others, the traveling exhibition shies away from more famous figures such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and former President Barack Obama and instead focuses on men who are considered less well known but still monumental, according to Mary Mikel Stump, director of audience engagement at the History Museum.
“(The icons are) men of color, who have found inspiration to make change in the world or their world through creativity, science, community, family, sports, art and any other means by which they find necessary,” Stump said.
The show consists of photographs, videos, art and words by and about the 30 icons. For some viewers, the exhibit serves as an introduction to these men.
The History Museum is the Pacific Northwest stop on the show’s 10-city tour.
“Tacoma has an incredible history of strong black leadership from civil rights to contemporary issues,” Stump said. The only icon in the show who has Northwest ties is playwright August Wilson. He died in 2005 in Seattle.
The stories in the show are inspirational to men of color, Stump said, “but they speak to all of us.”
“Men of Change” is divided into six categories: Storytellers, fathering, myth-breakers, community, imagining, catalysts and loving. The men’s profiles are presented on a scaffolding that snakes through the gallery.
The exhibit is also a contemporary art show.
On the gallery’s walls are artworks of the 30 men in various media as interpreted by contemporary artists.
Alfred Conteh painted filmmaker and “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler in muted tones of black and blue against a firey orange background. Derrick Adams portrayed rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar using a minimalist, geometric style.
Robert Pruitt’s take on Coates, the author of “The Case for Reparations,” is a woman covered by a redlining map. Redlining was a practice used by banks and mortgage lenders to keep African Americans from buying homes in white neighborhoods. The discriminatory practice was used in Tacoma.
Artist Knowledge Bennett created “Catalyst,” which honors victims of racist violence, including Emmett Till and Medgar Evers. The jet black painting has a coating of diamond-like sparkles that resemble stars in a night sky.
Basketball superstar LeBron James is one of the men in the show. A household name, James was included because of his community activism rather than his skills on the court, Stump said.
Financial icon and billionaire Robert Smith was barely noticed outside business circles until he offered to pay off the school debts of of students at Morehouse College in May.
Many of the 30 iconic men had roles in historical and ongoing struggles for civil rights. Some, like author James Baldwin, woke his readers up to the realities of being black and gay in 1950s America.
A timeline follows notable African American men through the 20th and early 21st centuries.
PROGRAMMING
“Men of Change” runs through March 15 at the Washington State History Museum.
Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr., Day
▪ Free admission 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn about civil rights through Tacoma Arts Live’s Civil Rights Legacy Tour performances of “Get On The Bus” at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
Feb. 20
▪ 6 p.m.: Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center performs “Maskulinity” at 6 p.m. In this free performance by TUPAC, dancers explore the diversity of masculinity in the African American community.
▪ 6:30 p.m.: A discussion about Esi Edugyan’s novel “Washington Black” explores the real-life contributions enslaved peoples made to knowledge and advances that were claimed by European scientists in the 18th and 19th centuries.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 5:35 AM.
