professional membership
Featured Member
| Project: | Black History Month in Philadelphia |
| Organization: | City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy |
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| "Come See About Me" at the African American Museum in Philadelphia |
Philadelphia Celebrates Black History Month in Grand Style
"Look Back on the Past and Celebrate the Present” is this year’s theme for the City of Philadelphia's Black History Month. Recognizing that Philadelphia has a long history of African-American history, culture, and tradition, the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, along with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, plans to showcase Philadelphia as a destination for Black History Month.
Come See About Me: The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection is a showcase conceived by Mary Wilson, an original member of the Supremes. In addition to the group’s stunning gowns, the exhibit will feature rarely seen video footage, gold records and album covers, historic photographs, and contemporary magazine and news articles. Wilson’s determined journey towards self-actualization—a story of universal relevance for women of all ages and backgrounds—will be a key theme of the presentation as well. As part of the exhibit the Office of Arts has coordinated a special installation of a portion of the exhibit in a large citrine right outside the Mayor’s Office in City Hall.
The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy is also coordinating with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation to create a special webpage about the many ways Black History Month is being celebrated in Philadelphia. This webpage is a place where the Philadelphia arts community can list their activities on the marketing website along with other social media vehicles.
Some other activities in honor of Black History Month include:
- The African American Art Collection Tour at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which will explore works such as the oldest wedding portraits of an African-American couple in an American museum and the first painting by an African-American artist purchased by an American museum.
- Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Charles Fuller and others will tell the story behind All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors.
- Independence National Historical Park will host Music of the Underground Railroad and an interactive discussion about the beginnings of the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia.
- At the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, the Philadelphia Theatre Company presents The Mountaintop, a gripping reimagining of the night before the assassination of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
Philly's roots run deep when it comes to significant moments, places, and legendary figures in Black history. By coordinating these activities, the City has created a way to successfully market Philadelphia’s Black history events to the cultural tourist and also to its own locals.
"Philadelphia has an extraordinary African-American Heritage legacy of its own, dating back to the very founding of this nation, and encompassing great leaders from religion to politics to sports to the arts, such as Richard Allen, Octavius Catto, John Coltrane, Marian Anderson, and Joe Frazier. I am pleased that our own African American Museum of Philadelphia is celebrating Black History Month by presenting “Come See About Me”, an exhibit devoted to the great singing group The Supremes, and that a component of that exhibition will be on display right outside my Office. While we pay special attention to Black History during the Month of February, Philadelphia and so many other cities across our nation are filled with rich stories of African-American leadership and accomplishment, and these are stories that must be told—especially to all our children—throughout the year. It is part of the American story.” -Mayor Michael A. Nutter, City of Philadelphia
| Organization Contact: | Gary Steuer |
| Project Contact: | Gary Steuer |