National
After Charges Filed and Curfew Lifted, Baltimore Regroups
Two young girls talk to national guardsmen outside of city hall in Baltimore, Md., on Friday, May 1. (Freddie Allen/NNPA News Wire Service)
By Freddie Allen
NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent
BALTIMORE (NNPA) – Friday afternoon was clear and cool enough for a light jacket, although most people wore T-shirts and shorts in Baltimore, Md. The Inner Harbor and much of city hall grounds were barricaded with low metal gates and by 6 pm, the Inner Harbor was free from the lively weekend energy that a normal spring Friday after work crowd would bring. National guardsmen milled about, weapons down, some with stern gazes others talking in hushed, but relaxed tones.
Waiting for a CNN interview at City Hall, Neill Franklin, the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of current and former members of the criminal justice system that advocates for drug policy reform, said that the Baltimore city police officers charged Friday had multiple attempts to render aid and they failed to so even though Freddie Gray requested it.
“I’m not surprised, this is business as usual, unfortunately for many of the neighborhoods in Baltimore city,” said Franklin. “This time someone died, which has brought the attention to this type of behavior of our police officers.”
Franklin said that in 2005, after Baltimore police officers arrested more than 108,000 people, the state’s attorney’s office was forced to vacate roughly 20 percent of the arrest without filing charges because there was no probable cause for the arrest, similar to what happened with Freddie Gray.
“Hopefully, this is a turning point, I hope it is, but I think the Fraternal Order of Police missed an opportunity today,” said Franklin, referring to a statement that the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) made shortly after State Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced charges would be filed against six police officers. “They can still say we support our officers and their families, but at the same time they should have said and yes we want to partner with you community to figure out a path forward to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
Franklin said that he feels bad for those police officers standing in the wings who want to to good and who are thinking maybe this is a turning point.
“Then you have the FOP say this nonsense,” said Franklin.
Franklin said that he hopes that residents come together with city officials and members of law enforcement to do an assessment of the police department, body-worn cameras and ways to protect officers who want to come forward when they witness fellow officers behaving badly.
Jhanee Braswell, 26, a resident of Baltimore’s east side, said that Baltimore needed the riots and the national media attention because the policed officers simply don’t care.
Braswell said that she was surprised that the state’s attorney’s office filed charges so soon. So many people get shot and killed everyday.
Braswell said that this is just another situation where things would have blown over without the cell phone footage of Gray’s arrest and the riots last Monday.
The last time Braswell was in a paddy wagon was for fighting downtown. All three times Braswell was in the paddy wagon, she said that a police officer walked her up the steps and secured in the back of the vehicle.
“I’ve been in the back of a paddy wagon and there’s no way that you can do all of that, because it’s too small to jerk yourself around like that to hurt yourself,” said Braswell.
That’s why she believes that either Gray was injured before he was placed in the wagon unsecured or that transport officer was driving erratically and contributed to Gray’s injury.
“I’m kind of glad that they did start a riot and they did start all of that stuff,” said Braswell, even though she recognized that residents like her will likely foot some of the bill for clean up and to repair the damaged properties via tax dollars. If they hadn’t burned the CVS and looted businesses, Braswell said, no one would have been held accountable for Gray’s death.
“I hope [the officers] go to jail and that this won’t be a recurring thing, because everyone should be treated fairly,” said Braswell.
“If your protocol is to walk the person up into the paddy wagon and sit them down and make sure that they are secured safely,” then you have to do that for everyone, because everyone deserves the same treatment, because their safety matters, Braswell said.
Rev. Jamal Bryant, the pastor of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, said it was a great thing for the city of Baltimore and the Black community to turn on the nightly news and see the mug shots and names of the six police officers involved in the wrongful arrest of Gray that ultimately contributed to his death, said Bryant.
“I’m excited about the new page that American history is on,” said Bryant. “All these cameras out here is the fruit of the work of the people that marched day and day out,” said Bryant motioning to the myriad camera crews and news tents that littered the grassy mall in front of city hall.
“The national news media came, because Freddie died if he had lived and walked away with a cane or on crutches or [rolled away] in a wheelchair, they would have swept it away,” said Bryant.
Bryant added that the fact that Gray’s arrest and anguished screams were caught on camera as police officers dragged him to the transport vehicle also contributed to the national news coverage.
“It was too eerie and too out of order,” said Bryant.
Police in Baltimore need body cameras right now and turned on with audio, said Bryant, adding that he didn’t understand why the city was still under curfew on Friday.
“I’m confused and perplexed why the Inner Harbor closed at 6 pm,” said Bryant. “There’s nothing open on Light Street. There’s nothing open on Pratt Street.
“It says that there is a reduced expectation of the civility of Black folks even in victory,” said Bryant. “You think if the [Baltimore] Ravens had won tonight they would have shut it down? No. Because Black people won they don’t know how to respond, because they are used to us losing.”
Cars horns blared some in support others in frustration over the hundreds of people gathered at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and W. North Avenue The burned out CVS was boarded up and police officers in riot gear blocked the street adjacent to the CVS. Some people danced others held “#BlackLivesMatter” signs. The crowd was very diverse as all ages, races and ethnic groups were out celebrating Mosby’s announcement and calling for police reform.
Timeeka Addison, a resident of Southwest Baltimore who works at CEASE (an acronym for “Communities Engaged and Advocating for a Smoke-Free Environments”), an organization that helps residents to stop smoking, danced in street with friends and said that the curfew should have been lifted sooner.
“We should be able to celebrate all night long, this is a victory,” said Addison. “There’s no need to shut the city down right now.”
She doesn’t believe that if people hadn’t looted the stores and burned buildings and police cars that Mosby’s announcement would have been the same.
“People have been marching for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s sad that it happened, I’m upset that it happened, but it needed to happen,” said Addison. “Everywhere else that this happens it just goes away, [officials] brush everything under the rug and say, ‘just take what we do.’ Baltimore actually made a statement and said, ‘We’re not just accepting that. You have to do something.’ Everybody said that, ‘You did it Ferguson, you did it in Florida, you can not do that here.’”
Follow Freddie Allen on Twitter at @freddieallenjr.
###
#NNPA BlackPress
Black Artists in America, Installation Three Wraps at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens
TRI-STATE DEFENDER — With 50+ paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the exhibit features artists like Varnette Honeywood from Los Angeles, whose pieces appeared in Bill Coby’s private collection (before they were auctioned off) and on “The Cosby Show.” Also included are works by Alonzo Davis, another Los Angeles artist who opened one of the first galleries there where Black Artists could exhibit.
By Candace A. Gray | Tri-State Defender
The tulips gleefully greet those who enter the gates at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens on an almost spring day. More than 650,000 bulbs of various hues are currently on display. And they are truly breathtaking.
Inside the gallery, and equally as breathtaking, is the “Black Artists in America, From the Bicentennial to September 11” exhibit, which runs through Sunday, March 29. This is the third installment of a three-part series that started years ago and illustrates part of the Black experience through visual arts in the 20th century.
“This story picks up where part two left off,’’ said Kevin Sharp, the Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea director for the Dixon. “This era is when we really start to see the emergence of these important Black artists’ agency and freedom shine through. They start to say and express what they want to, and it was a really beautiful time.”
With 50+ paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the exhibit features artists like Varnette Honeywood from Los Angeles, whose pieces appeared in Bill Coby’s private collection (before they were auctioned off) and on “The Cosby Show.” Also included are works by Alonzo Davis, another Los Angeles artist who opened one of the first galleries there where Black Artists could exhibit.
“Though [Davis] was from LA, he actually lived in Memphis for a decade,” said Sharp. “He was a dean at Memphis College of Art, and later opened the first gallery in New York owned and operated by black curators.”
Another featured artist is former NFL player, Ernie Barnes. His work is distinctive. Where have you seen one of his most popular paintings, Sugar Shack? On the end scene and credits of the hit show “Good Times.” His piece Saturday Night, Durham, North Carolina, 1974 is in this collection.
Memphis native James Little’s “The War Baby: The Triptych” is among more than 50 works featured in “Black Artists in America, From the Bicentennial to September 11” at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, the final installment of a three-part series highlighting the impact and evolution of Black artists through 2011.
The exhibit features other artists with Memphis ties, including abstract painter James Little, who was raised in a segregated Memphis and attended Memphis Academy of Art (before it was Memphis College of Art). He later moved to New York, became a teacher and an internationally acclaimed fixture in the art world in 2022 when he was named a Whitney Biennial selected artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Other artists like Romare Bearden, who had a Southern experience but lived up North, were featured in all three installments.
“During this period of time, he was a major figure,” said Sharp. “He wrote one of the first books on the history of African American art during a time when there were more Black academics, art teachers, more Black everything!”
Speaking of Black educators, Sharp said the head curator behind this tri-part series and Dixon’s partner in the arts is Earnestine Jenkins, Ph.D., an art history professor at the University of Memphis, who also earned a Master of Arts degree from Memphis State University (now UofM). “We began working with Dr. Jenkins in 2018,” he said.
Sharp explained that it takes a team of curators, registrars, counterparts at other museums, and more, about three years to assemble an exhibit like this. It came together quite seamlessly, he added. Each room conjured up more jaw-dropping “wows” than the one before it. Each piece worked with the others to tell the story of Black people and their collective experience during this time period.
One of the last artists about whom Sharp shared information was Bettye Saar, who will turn 100 years old this year. She’s been working in Los Angeles for 80 years and is finally getting her due. Her medium is collages or assemblages, and an incredible work of hers is on display. She’s married to an artist and has two daughters, also artists.
The exhibit catalogue bears some of these artists’ stories, among other scholarly information.
The exhibit, presented by the Joe Orgill Family Fund for Exhibitions, is culturally and colorfully rich. It is a must see and admission to the Dixon is free.
Visit https://www.dixon.org/ to learn more.
Fun Facts: An original James Little design lives in the flooring of the basketball court at Tom Lee Park, and he makes and mixes his own paint colors.
#NNPA BlackPress
Grief, Advocacy, and Education: A Counselor Reflects on Black Maternal Health
SAN DIEGO VOICE & VIEWPOINT — Last month healthcare leaders, birth workers, and community members gathered to honor the legacy of Charleston native Dr. Janell Green Smith, a nurse-midwife and doctor of nursing practice who died in January from childbirth complications. She had participated in more than 300 births and specialized in helping Black women give birth safely.
By Jennifer Porter Gore | Word-In-Black | San Diego Voice and Viewpoint
In 2024, the number of U.S. mothers who died as a result of pregnancy or childbirth dropped compared to 2023. But while slightly fewer Black mothers died that year, they still had three times the mortality rate of white women.
South Carolina’s rates of maternal deaths outpaced even the national rates. In fact, the state’s overall rate of maternal deaths between 2019 and 2023 was higher than all but eight states and the District of Columbia.
Last month healthcare leaders, birth workers, and community members gathered to honor the legacy of Charleston native Dr. Janell Green Smith, a nurse-midwife and doctor of nursing practice who died in January from childbirth complications. She had participated in more than 300 births and specialized in helping Black women give birth safely.
Her death shocked the community and her colleagues who are determined to address concerns about Black maternal health. The event also covered the importance of protecting mental health during grief and of men’s role in solving the maternal health crisis.
As both a therapist and a father, Lawrence Lovell, a licensed professional counselor and founder of Breakthrough Solutions, discussed ways the event’s attendees could process their grief over Green Smith’s death. He also shared ways male partners can advocate for women’s maternal health during pregnancy and childbirth.
Lovell spoke not just as a therapist but also as a father whose own family had briefly crossed paths with Green Smith. The event, he said, emerged organically from a moment of collective mourning.
Despite the grief, “it was still, like, a really beautiful event, a much-needed event, and it almost felt like we were all giving each other a collective family hug,” says Lovell.
His connection to Green Smith, Lovell says, was brief but meaningful during his wife’s pregnancy with their second child. Green Smith was practicing at the same birthing center where they had their child. She began practicing in Greenville a short time later.Even that short connection carried significance for Lovell, given the small number of Black maternal health professionals.
Lovell did not initially plan to become a mental health practitioner; he chose the career path after graduating from college, when someone suggested he consider psychology. His interest deepened when he noticed how few Black men work in mental health.
“Being Black man and playing football in college, there weren’t a lot of people that look like me talking about mental health,” says Lovell. “[I wanted] to give people that look like me an opportunity to work with someone that looks like them.”
Working with Expectant and New Parents
Lovell often counsels couples preparing for parenthood by, helping partners understand what a successful pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery look like. That often means helping women manage postpartum depression.
As a man, Lovell says, it’s “humbling” that a woman “just trusts me enough to work with me through their pregnancy or their postpartum recovery.”
In his work, Lovell has noticed how few men understand pregnancy before they experience it with their partner. Because early pregnancy symptoms are often invisible, he says, men may underestimate how much support a mom-to-be actually needs.
“Sometimes they may not realize they don’t know much about pregnancy and what to expect in those three trimesters,” Lovell says. “I tell a lot of the men that just because you can’t see [she’s pregnant] doesn’t mean that she won’t appreciate your intense support in that first trimester.”
Education about pregnancy and postpartum recovery, he says, can change how men support their partners.
Teaching Advocacy in the Delivery Room
Another major focus of Lovell’s counseling is preparing men to advocate for mothers during labor.
“Helping men understand what pregnancy looks like: what delivery is going to look like, and what are the realistic expectations that I should have of myself in postpartum,” he says.
Lovell encourages partners to be honest about their expectations for what will happen during delivery. He helps them prepare for the big day by discussing the birth plan and knowing how to quickly recognize problems. Clear communication, he says, prevents misunderstandings.
He regularly trains men to ask their partners detailed questions about their expectations during and after pregnancy. Advocacy in medical settings can be especially important and requires attention to details the mother may not be able to address.
“It’s always important to fine-tune things and truly understand what helps your partner feel most supported,” Lovell says. “Instead of guessing, you should ask.”
Lovell recalls a moment during the birth of his first child when he had to take that role.
During the delivery, “I felt like something wasn’t as sanitary as I’d like it to be,” he says. “I asked, ‘Hey, can you switch those out? Can you change your gloves?’”
Lovell has a succinct but powerful message he regularly shares with clients’ families, and he shared it with attendees at last month’s event.
“Just to believe women,” he says. “I’ve worked with different couples, and sometimes I’m not really sure that there’s enough empathy from the men.”
That includes how women express pain.
“If a woman says, ‘my pain is at a nine,’ just because how you would express yourself at a nine is different than how she’s expressing herself at [that level] doesn’t mean you shouldn’t believe her,” he says.
Empathy, he says, can change outcomes far beyond the delivery room.
“We’ve got to believe women when they’re talking about their experiences and their feelings and their pain,” he says. “I think there’s a lot that we can prevent if we empathize better.”
#NNPA BlackPress
Future of Florida’s Black History Museum in Limbo
JACKSONVILLE FREE PRESS — A proposal sponsored by Tom Leek, a Republican from Ormond Beach, has now passed the Senate in back-to-back legislative sessions. But the House version, filed by Kiyan Michael, a Jacksonville Republican, did not receive final approval in either year, effectively stalling the effort.
Jacksonville Free Press
Plans to establish a long-awaited Black history museum in Florida are once again on hold after legislation needed to advance the project failed to clear the state House for a second consecutive year, despite repeated approval in the Senate.
A proposal sponsored by Tom Leek, a Republican from Ormond Beach, has now passed the Senate in back-to-back legislative sessions. But the House version, filed by Kiyan Michael, a Jacksonville Republican, did not receive final approval in either year, effectively stalling the effort.
Under Florida law, identical or similar bills must pass both chambers before heading to the governor’s desk. Without House approval, the legislation has been unable to move forward, leaving the project in limbo. Long journey, contested location.
The proposed museum, formally known as the Florida Museum of Black History, has been years in the making, with lawmakers and community leaders framing it as a long-overdue institution to preserve and showcase the state’s African American heritage .A central point of contention has been the museum’s location. St. Augustine — widely recognized as the nation’s oldest city and a site deeply tied to both slavery and early Black history — emerged as the leading contender. Supporters argue the city’s historical significance makes it a natural home for the museum. However, competing interests and regional considerations have fueled debate, slowing consensus among lawmakers.
While the Senate-backed measure has consistently advanced, the lack of alignment in the House has underscored ongoing divisions about how and where the project should take shape.
The holdup in the Florida House appears to be less about opposition to the museum itself and more about a combination of procedural bottlenecks, unresolved structural issues, and lingering disagreements over how the project should be formalized and governed.
Despite the legislative setbacks, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has publicly voiced support for the museum. Speaking last month during the unveiling of a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass in St. Augustine, DeSantis said the project would move forward “one way or another,” signaling an intent to see the museum built regardless of legislative hurdles.
The anticipated museum has already cleared several hurdles. St. Johns County signed an agreement last year with Florida Memorial University to use the land that once housed its campus last year’s legislative session netted $1 million in funding for St. Johns County to work on planning and design for the museum. However, its anticipated that a million $3 million is needed.
Still, without statutory approval to finalize key components — including governance, funding mechanisms and site selection — the project remains largely conceptual.
With the House bill failing again, the timeline for the museum’s development is unclear. Lawmakers could revisit the proposal in the next legislative session, but any further delays risk pushing the project back several more years. Advocates warn that continued inaction could stall momentum for a museum many see as critical to telling a fuller, more accurate story of Florida’s past. For now, the effort remains paused — caught between political support at the top and legislative gridlock within the Capitol.
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National
After Charges Filed and Curfew Lifted, Baltimore Regroups
Two young girls talk to national guardsmen outside of city hall in Baltimore, Md., on Friday, May 1. (Freddie Allen/NNPA News Wire Service)
By Freddie Allen
NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent
BALTIMORE (NNPA) – Friday afternoon was clear and cool enough for a light jacket, although most people wore T-shirts and shorts in Baltimore, Md. The Inner Harbor and much of city hall grounds were barricaded with low metal gates and by 6 pm, the Inner Harbor was free from the lively weekend energy that a normal spring Friday after work crowd would bring. National guardsmen milled about, weapons down, some with stern gazes others talking in hushed, but relaxed tones.
Waiting for a CNN interview at City Hall, Neill Franklin, the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of current and former members of the criminal justice system that advocates for drug policy reform, said that the Baltimore city police officers charged Friday had multiple attempts to render aid and they failed to so even though Freddie Gray requested it.
“I’m not surprised, this is business as usual, unfortunately for many of the neighborhoods in Baltimore city,” said Franklin. “This time someone died, which has brought the attention to this type of behavior of our police officers.”
Franklin said that in 2005, after Baltimore police officers arrested more than 108,000 people, the state’s attorney’s office was forced to vacate roughly 20 percent of the arrest without filing charges because there was no probable cause for the arrest, similar to what happened with Freddie Gray.
“Hopefully, this is a turning point, I hope it is, but I think the Fraternal Order of Police missed an opportunity today,” said Franklin, referring to a statement that the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) made shortly after State Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced charges would be filed against six police officers. “They can still say we support our officers and their families, but at the same time they should have said and yes we want to partner with you community to figure out a path forward to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
Franklin said that he feels bad for those police officers standing in the wings who want to to good and who are thinking maybe this is a turning point.
“Then you have the FOP say this nonsense,” said Franklin.
Franklin said that he hopes that residents come together with city officials and members of law enforcement to do an assessment of the police department, body-worn cameras and ways to protect officers who want to come forward when they witness fellow officers behaving badly.
Jhanee Braswell, 26, a resident of Baltimore’s east side, said that Baltimore needed the riots and the national media attention because the policed officers simply don’t care.
Braswell said that she was surprised that the state’s attorney’s office filed charges so soon. So many people get shot and killed everyday.
Braswell said that this is just another situation where things would have blown over without the cell phone footage of Gray’s arrest and the riots last Monday.
The last time Braswell was in a paddy wagon was for fighting downtown. All three times Braswell was in the paddy wagon, she said that a police officer walked her up the steps and secured in the back of the vehicle.
“I’ve been in the back of a paddy wagon and there’s no way that you can do all of that, because it’s too small to jerk yourself around like that to hurt yourself,” said Braswell.
That’s why she believes that either Gray was injured before he was placed in the wagon unsecured or that transport officer was driving erratically and contributed to Gray’s injury.
“I’m kind of glad that they did start a riot and they did start all of that stuff,” said Braswell, even though she recognized that residents like her will likely foot some of the bill for clean up and to repair the damaged properties via tax dollars. If they hadn’t burned the CVS and looted businesses, Braswell said, no one would have been held accountable for Gray’s death.
“I hope [the officers] go to jail and that this won’t be a recurring thing, because everyone should be treated fairly,” said Braswell.
“If your protocol is to walk the person up into the paddy wagon and sit them down and make sure that they are secured safely,” then you have to do that for everyone, because everyone deserves the same treatment, because their safety matters, Braswell said.
Rev. Jamal Bryant, the pastor of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, said it was a great thing for the city of Baltimore and the Black community to turn on the nightly news and see the mug shots and names of the six police officers involved in the wrongful arrest of Gray that ultimately contributed to his death, said Bryant.
“I’m excited about the new page that American history is on,” said Bryant. “All these cameras out here is the fruit of the work of the people that marched day and day out,” said Bryant motioning to the myriad camera crews and news tents that littered the grassy mall in front of city hall.
“The national news media came, because Freddie died if he had lived and walked away with a cane or on crutches or [rolled away] in a wheelchair, they would have swept it away,” said Bryant.
Bryant added that the fact that Gray’s arrest and anguished screams were caught on camera as police officers dragged him to the transport vehicle also contributed to the national news coverage.
“It was too eerie and too out of order,” said Bryant.
Police in Baltimore need body cameras right now and turned on with audio, said Bryant, adding that he didn’t understand why the city was still under curfew on Friday.
“I’m confused and perplexed why the Inner Harbor closed at 6 pm,” said Bryant. “There’s nothing open on Light Street. There’s nothing open on Pratt Street.
“It says that there is a reduced expectation of the civility of Black folks even in victory,” said Bryant. “You think if the [Baltimore] Ravens had won tonight they would have shut it down? No. Because Black people won they don’t know how to respond, because they are used to us losing.”
Cars horns blared some in support others in frustration over the hundreds of people gathered at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and W. North Avenue The burned out CVS was boarded up and police officers in riot gear blocked the street adjacent to the CVS. Some people danced others held “#BlackLivesMatter” signs. The crowd was very diverse as all ages, races and ethnic groups were out celebrating Mosby’s announcement and calling for police reform.
Timeeka Addison, a resident of Southwest Baltimore who works at CEASE (an acronym for “Communities Engaged and Advocating for a Smoke-Free Environments”), an organization that helps residents to stop smoking, danced in street with friends and said that the curfew should have been lifted sooner.
“We should be able to celebrate all night long, this is a victory,” said Addison. “There’s no need to shut the city down right now.”
She doesn’t believe that if people hadn’t looted the stores and burned buildings and police cars that Mosby’s announcement would have been the same.
“People have been marching for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s sad that it happened, I’m upset that it happened, but it needed to happen,” said Addison. “Everywhere else that this happens it just goes away, [officials] brush everything under the rug and say, ‘just take what we do.’ Baltimore actually made a statement and said, ‘We’re not just accepting that. You have to do something.’ Everybody said that, ‘You did it Ferguson, you did it in Florida, you can not do that here.’”
Follow Freddie Allen on Twitter at @freddieallenjr.
###
#NNPA BlackPress
Black Artists in America, Installation Three Wraps at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens
TRI-STATE DEFENDER — With 50+ paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the exhibit features artists like Varnette Honeywood from Los Angeles, whose pieces appeared in Bill Coby’s private collection (before they were auctioned off) and on “The Cosby Show.” Also included are works by Alonzo Davis, another Los Angeles artist who opened one of the first galleries there where Black Artists could exhibit.
By Candace A. Gray | Tri-State Defender
The tulips gleefully greet those who enter the gates at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens on an almost spring day. More than 650,000 bulbs of various hues are currently on display. And they are truly breathtaking.
Inside the gallery, and equally as breathtaking, is the “Black Artists in America, From the Bicentennial to September 11” exhibit, which runs through Sunday, March 29. This is the third installment of a three-part series that started years ago and illustrates part of the Black experience through visual arts in the 20th century.
“This story picks up where part two left off,’’ said Kevin Sharp, the Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea director for the Dixon. “This era is when we really start to see the emergence of these important Black artists’ agency and freedom shine through. They start to say and express what they want to, and it was a really beautiful time.”
With 50+ paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the exhibit features artists like Varnette Honeywood from Los Angeles, whose pieces appeared in Bill Coby’s private collection (before they were auctioned off) and on “The Cosby Show.” Also included are works by Alonzo Davis, another Los Angeles artist who opened one of the first galleries there where Black Artists could exhibit.
“Though [Davis] was from LA, he actually lived in Memphis for a decade,” said Sharp. “He was a dean at Memphis College of Art, and later opened the first gallery in New York owned and operated by black curators.”
Another featured artist is former NFL player, Ernie Barnes. His work is distinctive. Where have you seen one of his most popular paintings, Sugar Shack? On the end scene and credits of the hit show “Good Times.” His piece Saturday Night, Durham, North Carolina, 1974 is in this collection.
Memphis native James Little’s “The War Baby: The Triptych” is among more than 50 works featured in “Black Artists in America, From the Bicentennial to September 11” at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, the final installment of a three-part series highlighting the impact and evolution of Black artists through 2011.
The exhibit features other artists with Memphis ties, including abstract painter James Little, who was raised in a segregated Memphis and attended Memphis Academy of Art (before it was Memphis College of Art). He later moved to New York, became a teacher and an internationally acclaimed fixture in the art world in 2022 when he was named a Whitney Biennial selected artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Other artists like Romare Bearden, who had a Southern experience but lived up North, were featured in all three installments.
“During this period of time, he was a major figure,” said Sharp. “He wrote one of the first books on the history of African American art during a time when there were more Black academics, art teachers, more Black everything!”
Speaking of Black educators, Sharp said the head curator behind this tri-part series and Dixon’s partner in the arts is Earnestine Jenkins, Ph.D., an art history professor at the University of Memphis, who also earned a Master of Arts degree from Memphis State University (now UofM). “We began working with Dr. Jenkins in 2018,” he said.
Sharp explained that it takes a team of curators, registrars, counterparts at other museums, and more, about three years to assemble an exhibit like this. It came together quite seamlessly, he added. Each room conjured up more jaw-dropping “wows” than the one before it. Each piece worked with the others to tell the story of Black people and their collective experience during this time period.
One of the last artists about whom Sharp shared information was Bettye Saar, who will turn 100 years old this year. She’s been working in Los Angeles for 80 years and is finally getting her due. Her medium is collages or assemblages, and an incredible work of hers is on display. She’s married to an artist and has two daughters, also artists.
The exhibit catalogue bears some of these artists’ stories, among other scholarly information.
The exhibit, presented by the Joe Orgill Family Fund for Exhibitions, is culturally and colorfully rich. It is a must see and admission to the Dixon is free.
Visit https://www.dixon.org/ to learn more.
Fun Facts: An original James Little design lives in the flooring of the basketball court at Tom Lee Park, and he makes and mixes his own paint colors.
#NNPA BlackPress
Grief, Advocacy, and Education: A Counselor Reflects on Black Maternal Health
SAN DIEGO VOICE & VIEWPOINT — Last month healthcare leaders, birth workers, and community members gathered to honor the legacy of Charleston native Dr. Janell Green Smith, a nurse-midwife and doctor of nursing practice who died in January from childbirth complications. She had participated in more than 300 births and specialized in helping Black women give birth safely.
By Jennifer Porter Gore | Word-In-Black | San Diego Voice and Viewpoint
In 2024, the number of U.S. mothers who died as a result of pregnancy or childbirth dropped compared to 2023. But while slightly fewer Black mothers died that year, they still had three times the mortality rate of white women.
South Carolina’s rates of maternal deaths outpaced even the national rates. In fact, the state’s overall rate of maternal deaths between 2019 and 2023 was higher than all but eight states and the District of Columbia.
Last month healthcare leaders, birth workers, and community members gathered to honor the legacy of Charleston native Dr. Janell Green Smith, a nurse-midwife and doctor of nursing practice who died in January from childbirth complications. She had participated in more than 300 births and specialized in helping Black women give birth safely.
Her death shocked the community and her colleagues who are determined to address concerns about Black maternal health. The event also covered the importance of protecting mental health during grief and of men’s role in solving the maternal health crisis.
As both a therapist and a father, Lawrence Lovell, a licensed professional counselor and founder of Breakthrough Solutions, discussed ways the event’s attendees could process their grief over Green Smith’s death. He also shared ways male partners can advocate for women’s maternal health during pregnancy and childbirth.
Lovell spoke not just as a therapist but also as a father whose own family had briefly crossed paths with Green Smith. The event, he said, emerged organically from a moment of collective mourning.
Despite the grief, “it was still, like, a really beautiful event, a much-needed event, and it almost felt like we were all giving each other a collective family hug,” says Lovell.
His connection to Green Smith, Lovell says, was brief but meaningful during his wife’s pregnancy with their second child. Green Smith was practicing at the same birthing center where they had their child. She began practicing in Greenville a short time later.Even that short connection carried significance for Lovell, given the small number of Black maternal health professionals.
Lovell did not initially plan to become a mental health practitioner; he chose the career path after graduating from college, when someone suggested he consider psychology. His interest deepened when he noticed how few Black men work in mental health.
“Being Black man and playing football in college, there weren’t a lot of people that look like me talking about mental health,” says Lovell. “[I wanted] to give people that look like me an opportunity to work with someone that looks like them.”
Working with Expectant and New Parents
Lovell often counsels couples preparing for parenthood by, helping partners understand what a successful pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery look like. That often means helping women manage postpartum depression.
As a man, Lovell says, it’s “humbling” that a woman “just trusts me enough to work with me through their pregnancy or their postpartum recovery.”
In his work, Lovell has noticed how few men understand pregnancy before they experience it with their partner. Because early pregnancy symptoms are often invisible, he says, men may underestimate how much support a mom-to-be actually needs.
“Sometimes they may not realize they don’t know much about pregnancy and what to expect in those three trimesters,” Lovell says. “I tell a lot of the men that just because you can’t see [she’s pregnant] doesn’t mean that she won’t appreciate your intense support in that first trimester.”
Education about pregnancy and postpartum recovery, he says, can change how men support their partners.
Teaching Advocacy in the Delivery Room
Another major focus of Lovell’s counseling is preparing men to advocate for mothers during labor.
“Helping men understand what pregnancy looks like: what delivery is going to look like, and what are the realistic expectations that I should have of myself in postpartum,” he says.
Lovell encourages partners to be honest about their expectations for what will happen during delivery. He helps them prepare for the big day by discussing the birth plan and knowing how to quickly recognize problems. Clear communication, he says, prevents misunderstandings.
He regularly trains men to ask their partners detailed questions about their expectations during and after pregnancy. Advocacy in medical settings can be especially important and requires attention to details the mother may not be able to address.
“It’s always important to fine-tune things and truly understand what helps your partner feel most supported,” Lovell says. “Instead of guessing, you should ask.”
Lovell recalls a moment during the birth of his first child when he had to take that role.
During the delivery, “I felt like something wasn’t as sanitary as I’d like it to be,” he says. “I asked, ‘Hey, can you switch those out? Can you change your gloves?’”
Lovell has a succinct but powerful message he regularly shares with clients’ families, and he shared it with attendees at last month’s event.
“Just to believe women,” he says. “I’ve worked with different couples, and sometimes I’m not really sure that there’s enough empathy from the men.”
That includes how women express pain.
“If a woman says, ‘my pain is at a nine,’ just because how you would express yourself at a nine is different than how she’s expressing herself at [that level] doesn’t mean you shouldn’t believe her,” he says.
Empathy, he says, can change outcomes far beyond the delivery room.
“We’ve got to believe women when they’re talking about their experiences and their feelings and their pain,” he says. “I think there’s a lot that we can prevent if we empathize better.”
#NNPA BlackPress
Future of Florida’s Black History Museum in Limbo
JACKSONVILLE FREE PRESS — A proposal sponsored by Tom Leek, a Republican from Ormond Beach, has now passed the Senate in back-to-back legislative sessions. But the House version, filed by Kiyan Michael, a Jacksonville Republican, did not receive final approval in either year, effectively stalling the effort.
Jacksonville Free Press
Plans to establish a long-awaited Black history museum in Florida are once again on hold after legislation needed to advance the project failed to clear the state House for a second consecutive year, despite repeated approval in the Senate.
A proposal sponsored by Tom Leek, a Republican from Ormond Beach, has now passed the Senate in back-to-back legislative sessions. But the House version, filed by Kiyan Michael, a Jacksonville Republican, did not receive final approval in either year, effectively stalling the effort.
Under Florida law, identical or similar bills must pass both chambers before heading to the governor’s desk. Without House approval, the legislation has been unable to move forward, leaving the project in limbo. Long journey, contested location.
The proposed museum, formally known as the Florida Museum of Black History, has been years in the making, with lawmakers and community leaders framing it as a long-overdue institution to preserve and showcase the state’s African American heritage .A central point of contention has been the museum’s location. St. Augustine — widely recognized as the nation’s oldest city and a site deeply tied to both slavery and early Black history — emerged as the leading contender. Supporters argue the city’s historical significance makes it a natural home for the museum. However, competing interests and regional considerations have fueled debate, slowing consensus among lawmakers.
While the Senate-backed measure has consistently advanced, the lack of alignment in the House has underscored ongoing divisions about how and where the project should take shape.
The holdup in the Florida House appears to be less about opposition to the museum itself and more about a combination of procedural bottlenecks, unresolved structural issues, and lingering disagreements over how the project should be formalized and governed.
Despite the legislative setbacks, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has publicly voiced support for the museum. Speaking last month during the unveiling of a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass in St. Augustine, DeSantis said the project would move forward “one way or another,” signaling an intent to see the museum built regardless of legislative hurdles.
The anticipated museum has already cleared several hurdles. St. Johns County signed an agreement last year with Florida Memorial University to use the land that once housed its campus last year’s legislative session netted $1 million in funding for St. Johns County to work on planning and design for the museum. However, its anticipated that a million $3 million is needed.
Still, without statutory approval to finalize key components — including governance, funding mechanisms and site selection — the project remains largely conceptual.
With the House bill failing again, the timeline for the museum’s development is unclear. Lawmakers could revisit the proposal in the next legislative session, but any further delays risk pushing the project back several more years. Advocates warn that continued inaction could stall momentum for a museum many see as critical to telling a fuller, more accurate story of Florida’s past. For now, the effort remains paused — caught between political support at the top and legislative gridlock within the Capitol.
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