men of change Archives - Levine Museum of the New South

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture and Levine Museum of the New South are proud to collaborate and bring the dynamic exhibition Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth. to our Charlotte community. The exhibition profiles the revolutionary men whose journeys have altered the history and culture of the country.

With free admission and programs for all ages and backgrounds, the Community Opening celebrates the first day that the Men of Change exhibition is open to the public. This kickoff has been designed to deepen our community’s understanding of and connection to the exhibition.

Tours of the Exhibit

Tours will begin at the Gantt Center and proceed to Levine Museum.

Starting times: 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:30 pm

Schedule for the Day

*Note the following events will be at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture.

12 noon – 2 pm
Be The Change: Drop-in Art Workshop – Create a typographic fist, representing taking change into your own hands

12 noon – 2 pm
The August Wilson Collection: Theater Performance – Brand New Sheriff (BNS) Productions, Charlotte’s only African-American repertory theatre, celebrates the life and contributions of the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson with monologues & scenes from 3 of his most beloved works: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences and Gem of the Ocean. Followed by an audience talkback.

1 pm – 2:30 pm
Just Like Jesse Owens: Children’s Book Storytelling and Workshop – Author Paula Young Shelton, daughter of Man of Change Ambassador Andrew Young, will share the great story behind the book and how it influenced her and her father’s life path

2:30 pm – 4 pm
Game Changer: Culture and History Trivia Activity – A fun trivia game that will deepen the understanding of the exhibition, winners will receive a prize

2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
To the Stars: Drop-in Art Workshop ;– Galaxy-centered art workshop inspired by Man of Change Charles Bolden

4 pm – 5 pm
Men of Jazz: Live Musical Performance – Live band covers of Ellington, Coltrane, Davis and Armstrong led by musician and community leader, Tim Scott

Please note that all programs during the opening are available to everyone until capacity is reached. Most of the day’s experiences are drop-in and out to ensure that many guests have the opportunity to enjoy. No additional registration is required for a specific program during the opening.

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

The Harvey B. Gantt Center and Levine Museum of the New South welcomes Ambassador Andrew Young, one of the icons featured in Smithsonian’s Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth. the exhibition, for an evening of conversation based on the newly published memoir The Many Lives of Andrew Young.

Ernie Suggs, author and award-winning journalist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will facilitate the conversation with Ambassador Young on stage for a conversation as they unpack details from the book, which offers a beautiful and in-depth survey of the Ambassador’s extraordinary life as a civil and human rights activist, mayor of Atlanta, U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and more.

This public conversation between Ambassador Andrew Young and author Ernie Suggs is open to all ages and backgrounds. Your ticket purchase includes a seat at JCSU’s Biddle Hall to enjoy the conversation.

Immediately following the program, Andrew Young will be available for a brief book signing. Attendees are encouraged to bring your personal copy of The Many Lives of Andrew Young. Please note: A limited amount of books will be available to purchase onsite at the program, or you may purchase a copy ahead of time at Harvey B. Gantt Center during regular business hours.

Thursday, November 3 at 6:30 pm

Biddle Hall at Johnson C. Smith University

100 Beatties Ford Rd, Charlotte, NC

Cost:$10 per participant

Sold Out

Andrew J. Young, an icon of the Civil Rights movement, worked as executive director of SCLC, the Southern Christian Leadership Council, where he became a top strategist and trusted friend to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and witnessed his assassination. In 1972, a predominately white district in Georgia elected Andrew Young as its representative to the United States Congress, making him the first black man to serve the state in Washington since the Reconstruction era.

Andrew Young served in Congress for three terms before being appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. In that role, he became a champion of human rights around the world, and particularly in Africa, where he spearheaded the administration’s efforts to end apartheid. In 1982, he was elected Mayor of Atlanta and, during two remarkable terms, is credited with transforming the city into an international metropolis. It was largely because of his international influence that Atlanta was chosen to host the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996, in which Ambassador Young served as co-chairman.

Since leaving public office, Andrew Young has been a sort of ambassador to the world, devoting much of his life’s work to Africa and its vast economic potential. Arguably, no one in America knows the continent and its people so well. The Andrew J. Young Foundation was created to help make his visions for the planet a reality, and he serves as Chairman of this non-profit organization. Andrew Young is the author of three books, An Easy Burden, A Way Out of No Way, and The Making of Modern Atlanta. He has produced, co-written and narrated over 30 acclaimed documentaries, including Rwanda Rising, which was chosen to open the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles in 2007.

Sought after as an advisor to world leaders, as a speaker on the lecture circuit, and a frequent commentator on CNN and other news channels, Ambassador Young is a keen observer of politics and world events. An ordained minister with the United Church of Christ for over six decades, he continues to preach and considers the work of the Andrew J. Young Foundation an extension of his ministry and of the Civil Rights movement itself.

Ernie Suggs has been a reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1997, currently covering race and culture. At the AJC, he is also the publisher of the paper’s weekly, Black-oriented newsletter, Unapologetically ATL. Suggs earned his B.A. degree in English Literature from North Carolina Central University in 1990, where he was the editor-in-chief and sports editor of The Campus Echo. In 1996, Suggs was awarded a fellowship by the Education Writers Association, which culminated in his award-winning, Pulitzer-nominated series Fighting to Survive: Historically Black Colleges and Universities Face the 21st Century. In 2005, Suggs became the Vice President of the NABJ. He was chosen for the prestigious Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 2008, and in 2009, he joined the Nieman Foundation’s board. Suggs received the Pioneer Black Journalist Award from NABJ in 2013.

About The Many Lives of Andrew Young

Featuring hundreds of full-color photographs that capture the extraordinary life and times of Andrew Young and a captivating narrative by acclaimed Atlanta Journal-Constitution race relations reporter Ernie Suggs. Interspersed with personal accounts from Andrew Young himself, The Many Lives of Andrew Young is both a tribute to and an essential chronicle of the life of a man whose activism and service changed the face of America and whose work continues to reverberate around the world today.

The book carries a foreword by President Jimmy Carter and an introduction by Gaurav Kumar, President of The Andrew J. Young Foundation.

Men Of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth

Join us for a community dialogue about the experiences of Black LGBTQ+ men facilitated by multi-disciplinary artist and community leader Jermaine Nakia Lee!

Along with Lee, co-facilitators will be Nate Turner, owner of Your Custom Catering & Events and vocational school educator and Chandler “Chan” Robinson (Chan the Musical Mystic), CMS educator, martial artist and mystic artist.

This is the Gantt Center and the Levine Museum’s first Community of Change conversation in honor of the Men of Change exhibition. Community of Change conversations place participants at the forefront. The series will explore themes presented in Men of Change to create space for difficult conversations that both enlighten and motivate.

Inspired by Men of Change Bayard Rustin, Alvin Ailey, Kehinde Wiley, James Baldwin, and others, this conversation will explore the following questions:

How does this intersection of LGBTQ+ and Black identities influence who these men were, how they presented themselves, and their impact?
How did these Men of Change inspire their generations as well as those after them?

The conversation will move beyond the men presented in the exhibition into a wider discussion of the experiences of Black LGBTQ+ men, and how this contributes to the multi-layered Black experience. Discussion topics will include:

Complexities of what it means to be a Black man
The spectrum of identities and vulnerabilities, including Black queer experiences and perspectives, compared to other queer experiences
The difference in generational experiences of men in the intersection
The history of Charlotte Black Pride
What do true progress, celebration, and remembering look like?
What is true celebration and remembering?
What can we do on an individual level to uplift, support, learn from, and promote inclusion?

Wednesday, November 30th

6:30 pm at Harvey B. Gantt Center
551 South Tryon Street Charlotte, NC 28202

This event is FREE however, we do encourage you to register at the link below.

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

Join us for a community dialogue about the experiences of Black male athletes facilitated by sports journalist Rana Cash and former NFL player and current member of the App State Athletics Department Doug Middleton!

This is the Gantt Center and Levine Museum’s second Community of Change conversation in honor of the Men of Change: Power.Triumph.Truth exhibition. Community of Change conversations place its participants at the forefront, allowing the discussion to take shape based on the contributions of each panelist. The Community of Change series explores themes presented in Men of Change to create space for difficult conversations that both enlighten and motivate.

Inspired by “Men of Change” Lebron James, Muhammad Ali and the athletes they continue to inspire, this conversation will explore the following questions:

What role do Black male-dominated sports play in Black culture and history?
In what ways have these “Men of Change” leveraged their talent for broader contributions and success?
What can we collectively learn from the Black male athlete’s experience?

The conversation will move beyond the men presented in the exhibition into a wider discussion about the experiences of Black men in sports. Discussion topics will include:

The intersection of professional sports and politics
Mental health for the Black male athletes
Transferrable skills developed in athleticism
The damage done by stereotypes
The pressures on and expectations on Black male athletes

Please join us to contribute your valued perspective in an experience meant to strengthen our collective connection.

Wednesday, December 14th

6:30 pm at Harvey B. Gantt Center
551 South Tryon Street Charlotte, NC 28202

This event is FREE but please register at the link below.

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

Presented by Epoch Tribe with Levine Museum of the New South and Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, The Men Inside is a live, on-stage production that honors the paths of Black men who have become change-makers in their community. Inspired by the exhibition Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth., the show shares deeply personal stories and open-hearted truths of Black men in Charlotte.

It’s a full-on display of the emotional and interpersonal journeys, as well as a beautiful and bold theatrical exploration of the hearts and minds of real Black men. Through the stories of a few, we see connections to many.

Location:
Booth Playhouse at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
130 N Tryon St. Charlotte NC, 28202

Date:
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023

Time:
7:00 p.m.

Purchase Tickets

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

Join us for our 3^rd installment of the Community of Change program. This conversation positions our guests as the main contributors! What is mentorship, why is it important for Black male youth, and how can you support? Learn more about the ways Black men in our local community are inspiring change. Led by Males Place founder Reggie Singleton and founder of Heal Charlotte, Greg Jackson.

The Community of Change series explores themes presented in Men of Change to create space for difficult conversations that both enlighten and galvanize.

Location:

Harvey B. Gantt Center
551 S. Tryon St. Charlotte NC, 28202

Date:

Monday, January 16, 2023

Time:

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

This event is free, but reserve your seat below!

Reserve Your Seat

This program is one of many offerings during our MLK Day 2023 free family day celebration on Monday, January 16, from 9am – 4pm. Registration is not required for MLK Day – checkout the full lineup of activities!

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

Celebrate Black History Month and join Charlotte Ballet II for a contemporary dance performance and audience talkback inspired by the Smithsonian exhibition Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth is currently on view at Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture and Levine Museum of the New South until March 12th.

This brand new work, created by Choreographer Ashley Lindsey, focuses on the revolutionary men of color who have come before us. The achievements of the “men of change” are woven within the legacy and traditions of the African American journey—achievements of excellence in spite of society’s barriers.

The As we Journey Through performance will be followed by an engaging panel discussion. Hear the behind-the-scenes details from the show’s choreographer, Ashley Lindsey. Take in performance artist Holly Bass‘s perspective of the show as she discusses her Alvin Ailey-inspired Men of Change work. Receive foundational context of the Men of Change exhibition with its curator, Marquette Folley, content director at the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). The esteemed panel will be hosted by Kimberly Pereira, Charlotte Ballet’s director of education & community engagement.

Location:
Charlotte Ballet Center for Dance
701 North Tryon Street

Date:
Sunday, February 19th

Time:
2 pm

Tickets

The Inspiration Behind As we Journey Through – Ashley Lindsey, Choreographer

When I began creating As we Journey Through for Charlotte Ballet II, I was inspired by emotions I experienced while touring the Men of Change exhibit presented by Ford and the Smithsonian Museum. From sadness to anger to hope and pride. I wanted these emotions to be the underlying theme throughout the work and to translate these feelings into movement authentically and honestly.

As I was touring the exhibit, the photo Black Boys by Dapper Lou particularly stood out. To me, this striking image genuinely embodied the sense of community that is critical to the survival of oppressed groups. The photo documented a time of extreme adversity and tension. However, the hope and pride in the eyes of the individuals photographed were ever-present.

As a choreographer, I’m always inspired by the dancers with whom I share the creative space. It was important to me to highlight each dancer’s individuality and virtuosic movement quality to tell the story of As we Journey Through. It was an honor to be a part of this collaboration between Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture, Levine Museum of the New South and Charlotte Ballet.

About Ashley Lindsay

Ashley Lindsey is a choreographer, director and educator. He is originally from Raleigh, North Carolina and a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Ashley’s professional career began in 2007 when Artistic Director Carla Maxwell invited him to join the Limón Dance Company. During his time with the company, he performed in theaters across five continents and was in featured roles in works by José Limón, Anna Sokolow, Clay Taliaferro, Jonathan Fredrickson and Donald McKayle. He joined the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 2011 and later worked with choreographers Helen Simoneau, Celia Rowlson-Hall and three-time Tony Award winner Hinton Battle.

As a choreographer, his work has been commissioned by Limón II, Houston Met Too Dance Co, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Elon University and four commissions for UNCSA. His work has been presented at Reverb International Dance Festival, Capezio Ace Awards and the White Wave International Dance Festival. Other choreography credits include Greensboro Opera’s “Porgy and Bess.” The Miss North Carolina Pageant, movement direction for supermodel Miranda Kerr and the dance films, “NEXT,” “Volant Matter,” “Better” and “Triune.”

He is currently on faculty at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts as a visiting guest professor and the artistic director of UNCSA’s Summer Dance Intensive and Professional Studies Workshop.

About Holly Bass

Holly Bass is a multidisciplinary performance and visual artist, writer and director. Her work depicting Alvin Ailey for the Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth. exhibition is currently on view. Bass’s work has been presented at spaces such as the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Museums, the Seattle Art Museum, Art Basel Miami Beach (Project Miami Fair) and the South African State Theatre. Her visual artwork includes photography, installation, video and performance and can be found in the collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the DC Art Bank, as well as private collections.

She has received numerous grants from the DC Arts Commission and was a 2019 Red Bull Detroit artist-in-residence and a 2019 Dance/USA Artist Fellow. She is a 2020-2022 Live Feed resident artist at New York Live Arts and a 2021-22 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow. A gifted and dedicated teaching artist, she directed a year-round creative writing and performance program for adjudicated youth in DC’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services for four years as well as facilitating workshops nationally and internationally. She is currently the national director for Turnaround Arts at the Kennedy Center, a program which uses the arts strategically to transform schools facing severe inequities.

About Marquette Folley

Marquette Folley is a social and cultural historian and exhibition developer and project manager. She came to the Smithsonian Institution in 1983 as a fellow to work on the National Museum of American History exhibition Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration, 1915-1940. Later, Folley joined the curatorial staff in the musical history division of the museum and worked to increase and broaden the jazz holdings of the museum. Currently, Folley is content director at the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).

At SITES, she was co-curator and co-creator of the exhibition and book titled Seeing Jazz, and exhibition developer and project director for the traveling exhibitions The Negro Motorists Green Book, Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth., and 100 Faces of War. Her past works include Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey, Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise, American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print, William H. Johnson: An American Modern, Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight, 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy.

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

Our 4th installment of Community of Change will create a safe space to highlight needs and resources impacting the mental health of Black men and boys in our community. Join us in a retreat-style conversation on self-care and mental health for Black men. Led by artist, storyteller, life coach, and mindfulness instructor Mario Jovan and Jarrett Evans, LCMHC, NCC.

This conversation positions our guests as the main contributors. The Community of Change series explores themes presented in Men of Change to create space for difficult conversations that both enlighten and galvanize.

Location:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library – West Boulevard Branch

2157 West Blvd, Charlotte NC 28208

Date:

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Time:

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

This program is FREE, but please reserve your seat below.

Reserve Your Seat

This program is the main discussion and an offering during our Community Health & Wellness Day program in collaboration with the West Boulevard Branch of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and West Boulevard community organizations, including Stratford Richardson YMCA, Seeds 4 Change, and Mixed Metaphors.

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

Join us for a high-school student-led, live, on-stage production which places a spotlight on performing as an agent of change. As a culmination of a 4-class winter camp, the students, with guidance from thespian Tiffany Bryant-Jackson, will showcase an original work, as well as perform speeches and monologues centered on what makes a compelling change maker. This show is inspired by the Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth. exhibition.

There will be a reception with light snacks and refreshments, during which our community can meet the young artists. Our community is highly encouraged to join the reception and celebrate the amazing work of our youth!

Location:

Little Rock AME Zion Church’s Black Box

401 N. McDowell Street, Charlotte NC 28208

Date:

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Time:

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

This program is FREE, but please reserve your seat below.

Reserve Your Seat

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

On January 24, 2023, Levine Museum hosted an in-depth conversation at MacFly Fresh alongside Garrison Gist, Keudis Sanchz and Percy King—featured artists in the Charlotte’s Men of Change exhibition, about art and social change as they reflected on the work they created for the exhibit.

Inspired by the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition, Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth., Charlotte’s Men of Change honors local Black leaders for their work as businessmen, teachers, political and justice activists, coaches, and visionaries. Their extraordinary stories of determination and resilience hold lessons for us all.

An original work of art commissioned by local creatives accompanies each of our featured men, providing new layers of interpretation and symbolism for considering the powerful legacies of Charlotte’s Men of Change.

Told across six themes, Charlotte’s Men of Change is on view at Levine Museum and the Gantt Center. Visit both institutions to learn about these six local change-makers.

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change Exhibition at the Gantt Center and Levine Museum is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.

Tours of the Exhibit

Schedule for the Day

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