Reginald F. Lewis Museum

Holiday Closure (Dec 22, 2021 - Jan 5, 2022)
2021-12-21 08:00 - 2022-01-05 17:00 UTC
The number one priority for the staff of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum is to ensure that we are doing our part to limit the risk of COVID-19 exposure, not only to ourselves but also to our families and the communities we serve, during this holiday season. As such, out of an abundance of caution in light of the current surge in COVID cases, the Lewis Museum building will be closed to the public from Wednesday, December 22, 2021, through Wednesday, January 5, 2022. The Museum will be open to museum visitors on Thursday, January 6, 2022.

Additionally, the Interfaith Breakfast honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and sponsored in partnership with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts has been postponed.

Please visit our Website at www.lewismuseum.org for the most up-to-date details on our events and exhibitions.

Virtual Book Talk: Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy
2021-12-06 19:00 - 20:00
Click the Link Below To Access the Goto Webinar Platform:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8255944060593335820
Join the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in conversation with author Gayle Jessup White, as she discusses her book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Legacy.
A Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings’ family explores America’s racial reckoning through the prism of her ancestors—both the enslaver and the enslaved. Gayle Jessup White had long heard the stories passed down from her father’s family, that they were direct descendants of Thomas Jefferson—lore she firmly believed, though others did not. For four decades the acclaimed journalist and genealogy enthusiast researched her connection to Thomas Jefferson, to confirm its truth once and for all. In Reclamation she chronicles her remarkable journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, and offers a compelling portrait of what it means to be a black woman in America, to pursue the American dream, to reconcile the legacy of racism, and to ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor.
Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s legendary estate. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Jessup White started her career at the New York Times. She’s written and spoken extensively about her work at Monticello. She is a direct Jefferson descendant, and is also related to two well-documented families enslaved at Monticello—the Hemingses and the Hubbards. She lives in Virginia.
In conjuction to Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection.
To Register Click Here.

Commentary from RFLM Executive Director Terri L. Freeman - Truth Tellers and Culture Keepers: Champions for Justice
2021-11-23 08:00 - 2021-12-23 17:00
Truth Tellers and Culture Keepers: Champions for Justice
On Friday, November 19, 2021, Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of killing two, and shooting another protester in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Rittenhouse verdict has been delivered mere weeks before the verdict in the Ahmaud Arbery case which many of us are also awaiting. At times like these I’m reminded of James Baldwin’s observation that, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost, almost all of the time – and in one’s work.” But how does that translate when our work is grounded in the history, art, and culture of people of African descent? What is the work of history and cultural keepers at a moment like this?
Museums serve as a record of the past, we are truth tellers and narrators of a cultural story that, not captured, simply disappears from our collective memory. Our role serves as a form of justice. Accurately interpreting, preserving, and educating about history and culture is a form of justice, one that takes fortitude and focus because our work is foundational to the principles that help strengthen many folks who are committed to racial equity, and especially for people of African descent in this country. As we witness and hear the influx of commentary – much of it inaccurately portraying the history of race in this country, or invoking critical race theory (often improperly), or negotiating yet again the realities of Black life in this country – I hope we each find windows to healthily process and reflect.
Alice Walker tells us “there is wealth in anger,” so if we are deeply wounded and angry about history’s cruel repetitions, we might be guided by Baldwin and Walker to put that anger into the passion for our work, into sharpening our clarity around why and how our work as history and culture keepers matters, and in renewing and fortifying our commitment that Black history, Black culture, Black expression, Black art, Black joy, Black safety, Black life, and Black people matter; every single day. That,ultimately, racial equity matters for all people. Our work matters because at moments like this, when we see white supremacy at work yet again in the judicial system – and when we are on tinder hooks awaiting a verdict in a case in which a literal law borne out of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act is being used to justify the killing of a Black man jogging – our work serves to remind people of the roads we have traveled before and have survived. But not only does our work remind people of African descent of the constant work that we have done to make this country “a more perfect union,” but our history and culture serves as a model to all people in the country. Our work pushes back against the “great temptation to simplify the issues.” We help people understand how this complex nuanced thing called race in America is not and has never been simple. We provide nuance. We provide models. We provide context. We provide history that offers roadmaps as we find ourselves in the midst of a third wave of the Civil Rights Movement (a movement that never truly ended).
This is why the work of Reginald F. Lewis Museum provide is so important. This is why we work with the Baltimore Police Department;’s cadet corp to increase understanding that is based not simply on feelings, but on facts. This is why we seek to train teachers on how they teach difficult history, to provide them with the support and resources to transfer knowledge to the next generation. This is why we host dialogues, debates and present thought leaders to introduce topics that often go unmentioned, or worse are discussed inaccurately like critical race theory. This is why the musuem’s historical memory is necessary to be both preserved and expanded.
Poet and scholar Audre Lorde was quick to remind us that “care of the self was not self-indulgence,” but rather an act of self-preservation. In the face of messages without care and seeming disregard for racial equity and Black life, may we who think and work as history and cultural keepers do what we need to care for ourselves and our diverse galaxies (family, friends, communities) as an act of self-preservation.

The Other Madison, The Lost History of a President's Black Family- Virtual Event
2021-11-18
This program begins at 7 pm EST.
11/18/21 – If you have not already register to this event, please register directly onto the GoToWebinar link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/171232862293913104
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Celebrate Maryland Emancipation (November 1, 1864) this month with a book talk with author Bettye Kearse discussing her family connection to U. S. President James Madison.
For thousands of years, West African griots (men) and griottes (women) have recited the stories of their people. Without this tradition Bettye Kearse would not have known that she is a descendant of President James Madison and his slave, and half-sister, Coreen. In 1990, Bettye became the eighth-generation griotte for her family. Their credo—“Always remember—you’re a Madison. You come from African slaves and a president”—was intended to be a source of pride, but for her, it echoed with abuses of slavery, including rape and incest. Confronting those abuses, Bettye embarked on a journey of discovery—of her ancestors, the nation, and herself. She learned that wherever African slaves walked, recorded history silenced their voices and buried their footsteps: beside a slave-holding fortress in Ghana; below a federal building in New York City; and under a brick walkway at James Madison’s Virginia plantation. When Bettye tried to confirm the information her ancestors had passed down, she encountered obstacles at every turn. Part personal quest, part testimony, part historical correction, The Other Madisons is the saga of an extraordinary American family told by a griotte in search of the whole story
The short film, The Other Madison will be screened before the book talk moderated by ICE Director, Dr. Izetta Autumn Mobley.
Bettye Kearse is a writer and retired pediatrician. Her writing has appeared in the Boston Herald, TIME Magazine, River Teeth, Zora, and the anthology Black Lives Have Always Mattered, among other places. The Other Madisons received the International Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Book Award for Nonfiction, Autobiography. Her research for The Other Madisons was covered in the Washington Post. She lives in New Mexico.
To register, CLICK HERE. Free event.
In conjunction with Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection.

Black Wall Street Youth Series: Demystifying the Stock Market - Virtual Event
2021-11-10 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for the final event of the Black Wall Street and Beyond Series in partnership with Kaiser Permanente. Jerry Britton and Joe Emerusabe will provide youths with information about various investment topics to enhance their understanding of the stock market.

Grades: Suitable for MS/HS audiences. Youth Program only. Educators and homeschoolers can contact terry.taylor@lewismuseum.org for more details.

To register CLICK HERE.

Fall Fest- In Person Event
2021-10-30 11:00 - 16:30
Join the Lewis Museum to celebrate the fall season with a focus on health, wellness, a splash of horror and some trick or treating for the entire community at our free admission Fall Fest. We will be joined by FiveMedicine for a COVID 19 walk-in vaccination clinic. In addition to the vaccination clinic, we’re hosting wellness discussions on a range of topics from Black mental health, the importance of immunizations this season and how local barber shops support COVID 19 outreach initiatives to African American/Latino males.

Then groove to house music while getting your yoga on as you learn tips to mentally and physically decompress. For our young and old Halloween lovers, come dressed in costumes if you like, participate in Halloween story readings, create a fall button and pick up a trick or treat bag while supplies last. Horror fans can enjoy a screening of the 2019 documentary. Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Hot beverages will be supplied outdoors.
Let us know you’re coming to this free fall event by Registering Here.

In Partnership with COVAX Outreach, Johns Hopkins University, and Kaiser Permanente
FREE ADMISSION

EVENT SCHEDULE AND PRESENTERS
HEALTH & WELLNESS ACTIVITIES

Time

Program

Presenters

11 am – 2 pm

Outreach: COVID 19 Vaccination Clinic

FiveMedicine

11 am – 3 pm

Health Outreach Resources

Ballet After Dark
Black Mental Health Alliance
Life Chair Health

11 am – 3 pm

Movement Class: House/Chair Yoga

Jordan “Jupiter” Poteat

HEALTH DISCUSSIONS

11 am – 11:40 am

Discussion: Education on COVID 19 Vaccinations & Boosters
Black Mental Health

Kaiser Permanente
Black Mental Health Alliance

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Discussion: Barbershop Talk, COVID 19 and Health Outreach for Black Males

Dr. Stephen Thomas- HAIR
Troy Staton – More Than a Shop
Fred Spry- The Shop
Life Chair Health

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Discussion: Health & Immunization

Johns Hopkins University

HALLOWEEN/ FALL ACTIVITIES
**Museum visitors old and young are invited to come dressed in costumes.

Time

Program

Presenters

11 am to 2 pm

Halloween Story Readings for Kids
Looking for a Jumbie by Tracey Baptiste
Boo Stew by Donna L. Washington

RFLM Staff/Volunteers

11 am to 3 pm

Button Art Activity:
Create a fall or Halloween inspired button at our Button Making Station.

RFLM Staff/Volunteers

11 am to 3 pm

Caricature Draw & Sketch:
Have a caricature portrait sketched of yourself by artist Jerry Breen.

Caricature Artist
Jerry Breen

11 am – 4 pm

Trick or Treats & Hot Beverages:
Grab a trick or treat bag of goodies or a hot fall drink (served outside) while supplies last.

RFLM

3 pm – 4:30 pm

Horror Noire Film Screening

Shudder Horror Films

The Jazz Age Gala - Postponed
2021-10-23 19:00 - 23:00
NEW COVID-19 Update: The Jazz Age GALA has been postponed. For more information contact: jasmin.alston@lewismuseum.org
On October 23, the Lewis Museum will open the season with the black-tie event we have all been waiting for. The Jazz Age Gala will deliver an exciting evening of entertainment created for your enjoyment. It will be a feast for the senses!

Where: The Lewis Museum
830 E. Pratt Street
Time: 7-11 PM
Attire: Black Tie
Individual tickets available September 7, 2021
THE JAZZ AGE
The Jazz Age was a cultural period and movement that took place in America during the 1920s from which new styles of music, dance and art deco architecture were born. The birth of jazz music is credited to African Americans who migrated from New Orleans to major northern cities leading to a wider dispersal of jazz as different styles.
Take Aways:

The Jazz Age was a post-World War I movement in the 1920s from which jazz music and dance emerged.
Female singers such as Bessie Smith emerged during this period of postwar equality, paving the way for future female artists
The Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age were personified by unconventional clothing and progressive attitude by woman.
The birth of jazz music is credited to African Americans, but both black and white Americans alike are responsible for its immense rise in popularity.
The rise of jazz coincided with the rise of radio broadcast and recording technology, which spawned the popular “potter palm” shows that included big-band jazz performances.

Unmarked Film Screening and Discussion - In Person Event
2021-10-23
Program begins at 1 pm.
Much of America’s rich history is being lost to time. In the South, vast amounts of African-American grave sites and burial grounds for enslaved persons have been disappearing over the years. In Virginia alone, stories of thousands at rest could vanish from history altogether if these locations are not restored. Those with personal connections to these burial sites have recently begun to uncover and maintain locations across the state. However, there is much work to be done in order to preserve this part of America’s history. Unmarked not only explores these untold stories of the past but also the efforts underway to preserve them.
Join Co-Director and Archival Expert Chris Haley for a film screening of Unmarked (40 minutes) followed with a post discussion. Chris Haley is the Director of the Study of the Legacy of Slavery at the Maryland State Archives Research Department. Unmarked Film Trailer

If you would like to register for this event, but would prefer to pay in-person, please contact the Visitor Services Desk (443) 263 – 1875. To Pay Online, CLICK HERE.
In conjunction with Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection.

Marita Golden, The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women
2021-10-19 19:00 - 20:00
Presented in partnership with the Enoch Pratt Free Library. FREE. Please check back for registration information.
Marita Golden will be in conversation with Dr. Georgia Willie-Carnegie about her life and work, including her new book, The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women
Marita Golden, cofounder and president emeritus of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, is a veteran teacher of writing and an acclaimed award-winning author of more than a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction. She has served as a member of the faculties of the MFA graduate creative writing programs at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and in the MA creative writing program at John Hopkins University and has taught writing internationally to a variety of constituencies. She currently lives in Maryland.
Dr. Georgia Willie-Carnegie is certified as a Diplomate of the Board of Internal Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, member of the Association of Black Cardiology, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, American Society of Echocardiography, and American College of Physicians. She completed a MedStar Research Fellowship focusing on the Women’s Health Initiative and diabetes therapy. Her interests include cardiovascular imaging and echocardiography.
Order your copy of The Strong Black Woman from the Ivy Bookshop.
ASL interpretation will be available for attendees.
Dial-In Information
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://marylandlibraries.zoom.us/j/93113793434?pwd=[REDACTED]
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Or One tap mobile :
US: +13017158592,,93113793434#,,,,*[REDACTED]# or +16513728299,,93113793434#,,,,*[REDACTED]#
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International numbers available: https://marylandlibraries.zoom.us/u/aeCJEyI2LV

Keeping Our Planet Healthy: Sustainable Energy
2021-10-16 13:30 - 14:30
Join STEMCX and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum as we invite Kelly Wyche, CEO and founder of Collective Power (https://www.ourcollectivepower.org/) to discuss the need for sustainable ways to power our planet. Then join Kelly as she leads us through the construction of our own DIY windmill using materials in your own home. This STEM activity is inspired by William Kamkwamba, the environmentalist who famously built a wind turbine to save his village in Africa. A video reading of The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by illustrator Elizabeth Zunon will be included.
Keeping Our Planet Healthy: Sustainable Energy is in partnership with STEMcx. This program is part of the 2021 Maryland STEM Festival.
To Register Click Here. Scroll below for ZOOM Link.

Material Supply List:
Please have the following materials ready to create your own turbine during the session.

Cardboard panel to create three wind mills (About 11×14 dimensions)
1 – Paper towel tube
2 – Plastic straws
Scissors
Roll of masking tape
1 – Wooden/bamboo skewer stick (10 inch)
String (About 2 feet – 24 inches)
1 – Dixie Paper Cup
1 – Jumbo paper clip
4 – Small stones or glass pebbles (to fit in Dixie cup as weights)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81271259112
Meeting ID: 812 7125 9112
Topic: Keeping Our Planet Healthy: Sustainable energy
Time: Oct 16, 2021 01:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,81271259112# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,81271259112# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 812 7125 9112
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbwoV6Mnuf

Virtual Education Webinar: Slavery from a Different Point of View and Its Relevance in Education
2021-10-16 10:00 - 12:00
This education webinar, part of three part professional learning series will serve to help educators reimagine the African American historical experience while looking at forms of resistance and acts of resilience. This session will also cover the pursuit of literacy and educational systems during plantation slavery leading up to the civil war. Participants will undergo a critical examination of the past while applying effective pedagogical strategies that still hold value and relevance in the field of education during contemporary times. This session will also address the following areas of focus:

Impact of enslaved literacy on enslaved populations
Self – Emancipation and uprisings linked to enslaved literacy
Learning in secrecy on the plantation
Education as a means of healing on the plantation
The 1619 Project and Lessons To Be Learned

To apply please contact terry.taylor@lewismuseum.org.

These sessions will be facilitated by Marcus Sankofa Nicks, M.A., of the Howard County Public School System. Marcus “Sankofa” Nicks holds a Masters Degree in African American Studies from Morgan State University of Baltimore, MD. He has worked in Maryland’s Howard County Public School System for over 12 years focusing his efforts on eliminating the achievement gap for Black/African American students as a liaison for the Black Student Achievement Program. He teaches high school African American Studies Seminar and serves as an educational consultant for staff in his school district on how to effectively teach students of color through a culturally relevant trauma-informed approach. His research primarily focuses on African American educational history during the Civil War era through the Jim Crow time period. His work also includes facilitating the socio-emotional development of Black educators who navigate educational settings. His community work extends from Howard County, Baltimore City and beyond where he has also served as a lead facilitator on many occasions for Black affinity groups and healing spaces for Black/African American individuals and families from a culturally based standpoint.

In conjunction with Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection – October 1, 2021 to January 4, 2022.

Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection
2021-10-02 08:00 - 2021-10-10 17:00
Exhibition Opening Weekend:
Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection
October 1, 2021 – January 4, 2022
Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection explores how archives help us tell nuanced stories of slavery. The exhibit features select items from the Stearns Collection, an 87-piece collection spanning more than 100 years, painstakingly collected by Herbert Stearns. Through this exhibit we can examine how people – from researchers, educators, and historians to students and family genealogists – use documents to confront the complicated role that slavery played in American life. By looking closely at the newspapers, images, ads, and bills of sale from the period, we see how slavery existed in every part of life in the United States.

Answering the Call: Access and Equity in Higher Education - Virtual Event
2021-09-23
To access ZOOM panel program on September 23rd click Here. Program begins Sept 23, 2021 at 6 pm EDT.
To register for the event to let us know you are attending, click Here.

Students of color face many disparities in higher education. They are disproportionately affected by barriers like affordability, STEM participation, and more, culminating in lower graduation rates and other academic challenges. Understanding this problem is the first step in solving it. Join Kaiser Permanente, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, and George Mason University for a dynamic discussion of disparities in higher education and how they can be addressed.
Participants are:

Dr. Heidi M. Anderson Panelist President, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Dr. Anthony L. Jenkins Panelist President, Coppin State University
Dr. Gregory Washington Panelist President, George Mason University
Dr. David Kwabena Wilson Panelist President, Morgan State University
Dr. Anthony K. Wutoh Panelist Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Howard University
Dr. Michael Willis Special Introductory Remarks Vice President and Information Officer, Kaiser Permanente
Terri Lee Freeman Executive Director and Moderator, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American Culture and History

Live @ the Lewis with WEAA Radio - Dear Mama: Tupac’s Homage to Black Mothers
2021-09-15
This program begins at 2 pm.
Patrons can meet us onsite at the Lewis Museum to see this live on-air show. Note: This program will also be live-streamed on WEAA and Lewis Museum’s Facebook page as well as on 88.9 FM WEAA radio station.
Join the Reginald F. Lewis Museum and WEAA’s Today with Dr. Kaye Radio Show in a live on-air discussion of Tupac’s iconic hip-hop song Dear Mama. This program will include a panel talk with Black mother activists and Black sons discussing their special relationship surviving turbulent times. The first segment will include a conversation analyzing Tupac’s lyrics with Dr. Jeff Menzise, professor of clinical psychology at Morgan State University and Jamilah Barnes of Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation.
In the second segment Dr. Kaye Whitehead will interview Black mothers and sons to include:

Cheryl Waters-Hassan, mother of Ta-Nehsi Coates and friend of a young Tupac
Kimberly Armstrong an advocate on youth violence
Dr. David Fakunle and Deborah Pierce Fakunle, co- founders of DiscoverME/RecoverME, an organization that utilizes the African oral tradition to encourage the claiming of one’s narrative for personal and organizational growth.
Baltimore Beat Journalist Lisa Snowden McCray
Charmayne Turner, Director of School Partnerships, Y of Central Maryland

Let us know you’re coming by registering Here.
This program is in partnership with Tupac Shakur Commemoration Week in Baltimore, MD (Sept 14 – Sept 17). For additional Tupac events, CLICK HERE.

Young, Gifted & Woke – Virtual Event
2021-08-18 18:00 - 19:00
Hosted by 13 year old artist activist, Khloe Thompson, Young, Gifted & Woke Talk Series, is a conversation series with artists and activists working to better the world through creativity and activism in the community. Premieres July 21st! This program is in partnership with the Canady Foundation for the Arts. This event series exposes the public and international youth to the power art and artists have to change the world.
The Young, Gifted & Woke Talk Series, will be free and streamed to the public through Facebook on Wednesdays from 6-7pm EST on July 21st, August 4th and August 18th. Viewers can go to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum Facebook site to view this program.

Live @ the Lewis: Exhibit Expressions -Tell Our Story
2021-08-14
Explore the photographic works of Civil Rights photographer Robert Houston along with the contemporary works of Devin Allen, Joe Giordano and Dee Dwyer through the world of dance. Dance Baltimore Repertory Ensemble will perform dance interpretations based on their works. A gallery walk with the curator of Tell Our Story: A Tribute to Robert Houston exhibition will follow each dance performance.
Exhibit Expressions Dance Presentations: 1 pm and 3 pm
Included with Museum Admission
Click HERE to RSVP/Purchase Online Tickets.

Member & Volunteer Day: Hot Fun in the Summer Time - In Person
2021-08-07 11:00 - 16:00
Join us for our summertime Member & Volunteer Open House to learn how you can become a Lewis Museum member and volunteer!
Kids and their families can spend the afternoon beating the summertime heat at the Lewis Museum with fun family activities throughout the day. Activities include storytelling puppetry performances by Canady Foundation for the Arts Repertory Theatre time traveling to the famous African American Carr’s Beach, museum highlight tours and cartoon portraits sketched by caricature artist Jerry Breen.
This event is open to the public.
Click Here to RSVP/Purchase Online Tickets.
Activity Schedule:

11 am and Noon – Canady Foundation for the Arts Repertory Theatre (30 minute presentations
12 pm to 3:30 pm – Caricature Portrait Drawings by Jerry Breen
12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm – Museum Tours with Guides (20 minute tours)
Cancellation Notice: Due to unforeseen emergencies Mr. Soft Ice Cream Truck and Sankofa Dance Theater will not be making an appearance at this event.

Young, Gifted & Woke - Virtual Event
2021-08-04 18:00 - 19:00, 2021-07-21

Change in Mask Policy - Effective July 29
2021-07-29 08:00 - 2021-09-01 17:00
We encourage all guests to continue to be conscious of COVID-19 guidelines and continue using appropriate hygiene while in the museum.

Make Good Trouble Protest Panel Artists Retrospective - In Person
2021-07-24 15:00 - 16:30
Join the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in commemorating the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd from an artists perspective. Join photojournalist Kyle Pompey and mural artists, Reggie Lewis, Jacob Patton Ado and Philip West, whose works are featured in “Make Good Trouble: Marching for Change” exhibition. They will reflect on the creation of their works, their involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of art as a tool for activism and a vehicle for amplifying the voices of the oppressed. This artist conversation will be moderated by Museum curator, Carol Rhodes Dyson.
Included with Museum Admission. Click HERE to RSVP.

Tell Our Stories Youth Photography Workshop - In Person
2021-07-24 11:00 - 13:30
Sharpen your photography skills with photojournalist Kyle Pompey while exploring the exhibition, Tell Our Story: A Tribute to Robert Houston. Youth will learn how to shoot with a 35mm camera, discover some of the tricks of the trade for captivating photos and be introduced to the works of several African American photographers. Then participants will capture photos with Kyle Pompey touring the Museum’s neighborhood of Little Italy and the Inner Harbor.
Suitable for Ages: 9 – 14
Included with Museum Admission. Space is limited and includes the use of 35 mm cameras. Click HERE to register and reserve your spot.

Tell Our Story: A Tribute to Robert Houston Artist Talk - In Person
2021-07-10
Join us for an artist talk of the latest exhibition, Tell Our Story: A Tribute to Robert Houston. This conversation moderated by museum Curator Carol Dyson will examine the works of photographer Robert Houston who documented the Civil Rights movement including the Poor People’s Campaign and Resurrection City in Washington, DC along with the photographs of Devin Allen, J.M. Giordano and Dee Dwyer. This in-person conversation includes photographers Devin Allen, J.M. Giordano and Dee Dwyer.
Free to Museum Members. Free with Museum Admission to Non- Members.
This program begins at 3 pm.
To Register Click Here.

Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America -Virtual
2021-07-07 19:00 - 20:00
Brown Lecture Series: Candacy Taylor. Presented in partnership with the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
Candacy Taylor will be in conversation with Jessica Bell Brown about her book, Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.
Candacy Taylor is an award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian. Her work has been featured in over 50 media outlets including the New Yorker and The Atlantic. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships and grants including The Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
Jessica Bell Brown is the Associate Curator for Contemporary Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Her forthcoming exhibition A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration is co-curated with Ryan N. Dennis of the Mississippi Museum of Art and will open in April 2022 in Jackson and October 2022 at the BMA. Brown has helmed roles at Gracie Mansion Conservancy, Creative Time, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and MoMA. A Ph.D. candidate in Modern and Contemporary Art at Princeton, her writing has appeared in publications for The Studio Museum in Harlem, MoMA, New Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Renaissance Society, Flash Art, Artforum, Art Papers, Aperture, Art in America and The Brooklyn Rail.
ASL interpretation will be available to attendees.
To Register Click Here. Registration is encouraged but not required.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://marylandlibraries.zoom.us/j/92672150607?pwd=[REDACTED]
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Exhibition Opening: Tell Our Story: A Tribute to Robert Houston
2021-07-03
Tell Our Story, A Tribute to Robert Houston is an assemblage of photographs and photographers whose narratives are grounded in compassion and empathy yet focused on contemporary social commentary. As a grouping, the works share similar stories and methods chronicling a collective history. The exhibition is grounded in Houston’s sense of humanity as seen through various portraitures and expands into the photo documentation of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign and Resurrection City where he lived for six weeks documenting the daily lives and activities he saw on the National Mall. Devin Allen and J.M. Giordano, both Baltimore based photographers, spent time with Houston, discussing the importance of community, building relationships with the subject matter, timing and patience in crafting an image as a social statement. Their contributed images document the beauty and struggle of everyday life, the 2018 Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, the Freddie Gray uprising and Black Lives Matter protests in Baltimore. While not directly influenced by Robert Houston, Dee Dwyer, a DC photo biographer, captures the essence and appreciation of community while weaving multi-level narratives. Her images celebrate urban life and record stories of protest and change with grace and humanity, forwarding the legacy of the stylistic perspective of Robert Houston.

Action Revolutionaries: Celebrating the Legacy of Black Trans Organizing - In Person
2021-06-28
Join the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in a discussion with local Black trans leaders on the histories of grassroots organizing and activism for the entire TLGBQ community, as well as within the larger movement for Black liberation. Trans leaders will discuss the foundations of Black trans leadership as well as the distance between the Black Trans Live Movement with Black Lives Matter calling for solidarity among Black communities to fight for trans lives. This program is in memory of the Stonewall Riots Anniversary (June 28, 1969), a historic moment that catapulted the Gay Rights movement. Included with Museum Admission.
In partnership with Baltimore Safe Haven.
This program begins 6:30 pm to 8 pm.
In conjunction with Making Good Trouble, Marching for Change exhibition.
Click Here to RSVP/Purchase Online Tickets.

Virtual Book Talk: Annette Gordon Reed, On Juneteenth
2021-06-23 19:00 - 20:00
Celebrate Juneteenth throughout June with virtual and onsite programming with the Lewis Museum and its community partners. More details to come.
Annette Gordon-Reed will be in virtual conversation with Lawrence Jackson about her new book, On Juneteenth. In partnership with the Enoch Pratt Library.
In ON JUNETEENTH, Gordon-Reed combines her own scholarship with a personal and intimate reflection of an overlooked holiday that has suddenly taken on new significance in a post-George Floyd world. As Gordon-Reed writes, “It is staggering that there is no date commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.” Yet, Texas—the last state to free its slaves—has long acknowledged the moment on June 19, 1865, when US Major General Gordon Granger proclaimed from his headquarters in Galveston that slavery was no longer the law of the land.
ON JUNETEENTH takes us beyond the stories of Gordon-Reed’s childhood, providing a Texan’s view of the long, non-traditional road to a national recognition of the holiday. Gordon-Reed presents the saga of a frontier defined as much by the slave plantation owner as the mythic cowboy, rancher, or oilman. Reworking the “Alamo” narrative, she shows that enslaved Blacks—in addition to Native Americans, Anglos, and Tejanos—formed the state’s makeup from the 1500s, well before Africans arrived in Jamestown. A commemoration of Juneteenth and the fraught legacies of slavery that still persist, On Juneteenth is a stark reminder that the fight for equality is ongoing.
Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. Author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, she lives in New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Lawrence Jackson is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and History at Johns Hopkins University. He has written a memoir on race and family history called My Father’s Name: A Black Virginia Family after the Civil War.
Click Here to Register.

BLM Protest Anniversary Programming - Make Good Trouble Protest Panels Artist Retrospective - Rescheduled
2021-06-22 18:30 - 20:30
This program will be rescheduled in July 2021. Please check back for new date.
Join the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in commemorating the first anniversary of the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd by joining the artists, Reggie Lewis, Jacob Patton Ado, Sara Austin and Philip West, who created the four panels featured in the “Make Good Trouble” exhibit as they reflect on the creation of their work, their involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of art as a tool for activism and a vehicle for amplifying the voices of the oppressed.

Black Wall Street and Beyond Series: Understanding Economic Development for Youth/The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Massacre of 1921 - Virtual Event
2021-06-22 10:00 - 11:30
In partnership with Kaiser Permanente, the first of three events will feature Hillary Beard, author of the adaptation The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. Ms. Beard will discuss her new book adaption for youth.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the historical events that led to the destruction of the Greenwood community of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Greenwood was home to a thriving commercial and residential district respectfully known as Black Wall Street. The community was home to businesses, including grocery stores, banks, libraries, and much more; one of the most affluent African-American communities in the country. The newly released book The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, tells the other story- how a generation of Black Americans just recently removed from enslavement, built prosperous, wealthy community of 10,000 with its own financial institutions, educational system, 600 entrepreneurs, churches, hotels, movie theatres, and more. These events tell a story of how generational wealth in the Black community could’ve been built and fostered.
The Black Wall Street and Beyond Series will highlight the lessons learned from this once thriving and self-sufficient community and apply it to conditions of today. It will also emphasize why we must work to increase opportunities to build back wealth into Black communities and families through investing in the stock market and entrepreneurship. This series will serve as a springboard for teachers to develop follow up lesson plans to educate students about the history Black Walls Street and economic development.
Hilary Beard is an award-winning writer and an expert in book collaborations. She has partnered with many celebrities, experts, and public figures, including Katherine Johnson on her book Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson.

Suitable for youth (12+), educators and general public.

Click HERE to register.

Juneteenth Short Kuts Show: Black Liberation, Protest, Freedom - In Person Event
2021-06-19 16:00 - 17:30
This Juneteenth Freedom Day Event is sponsored by imre.
Ever just wanted to break free? Join us onsite at the Lewis Museum to experience stories of liberation for the premier Short Kuts Live Storytelling Show. In honor of Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, we celebrate the date when Major General Granger and Union troops reached Galveston, Texas, with news that the civil war had ended; it represents the end of slavery for all in the United States of America.
Our Liberation: “Stories of Freedom and Emancipation” – The show explores the themes of liberation, ranging from the joys of freedom to the perils people faced in the aftermath, whether they were refugees, survivors of domestic violence, discrimination, assault, or in a strange land or felt like strangers in their own country.
Liberation Theme Song: Redemption Songs by Bob Marley
Featured Storytellers

Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead
Tsaonsda Edwards
Dionne Joyner-Weems
Dr. LaShay Harvey
Winifred Winston

Produced by Dr. LaMarr Darnell Shields and directed by Marc LaVeau.
Click HERE to Register/Purchase Online Tickets. ** Special Note: Free admission offered to the first 250 people who visit the museum on June 19th.
