Newspapers / West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, … / Jan. 12, 1989, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
PAGE 4 - WEST CRAVEN HIGHUOHTS - JANUARY U, 1988 A Salute To Black Heritage Women’s Contributions Made For A Better Life Achievements Against The Odds Art Exhibit Illustrates Successes T heir unquestioned con- tributions to black America run the gamut from arts to aboiition, though most were reiativeiy un known in their day. Even in 1989, many of the 120 figures featured in the Smithso nian’s “Black Women: Achieve ments Against the Odds” remain mired in obscurity. The exhibition, which opens at the Washington Civic Center on Sunday, Jan. 15, features 120 black women representing 200 years of achievement in areas ranging flrom religion and civil rights to music and medicine. The show is organized around 18 carbon pencil portraits drawn by illustrator Nancy Edwards Calder, each including scenes, quotations and stories about the subject. Each panel also includes reproductions of vintage photo graphs and statements about five to seven other women whose contributions to history can be similarly categorized. Among the women featured are Madam C.J. Walker (1867- 1919), the first black female mil lionaire, who worked her way from a wash woman to the head of her own cosmetics manufac turing company; Katherine Dunham (bom 1912), an anthro pologist who studied African, Caribbean, Central European and classical ballet dances and formed her own troupe; and Har riet Tubman (1829-1913), who is widely known for her work in the underground railroad, though she also is the only woman in American history to plan and lead a miUtaiy raid. HARRIiT TUBMAN (1820-1913) was bom a slave in Mary land but escaped to freedom and became the most suc cessful and renowned conductor of the underground rail road. On June 2,1863, she and Union Col. James Mont gomery led three gunboats of blacks on a campaign up the Combohoe River In South Carolina. The battling and burning resulted In the escape of more than 700 sloves. She served in the Union Army for three yea rsasaguerrll- la leader, scout, spy and nurse. Thirty years otter T ■ - ship In I death. Congress named a "Liberty" ship In her honpr. MAOGIE LENA WALKER (1867-1934) was the first Amer ican woman to become a bank president. In 1899, she became the executive secretary-treasurer of the Indepen dent Order of St. Luke, a fraternal agency and insurance cooperative headquartered in Rkhmoncf, Vo. Under her leadership, the membership grew from 57 local chapters to 1,500 in 14 states, boasting a total membership of 30,000. She founded the Penny Savings Bank In 1903 and later served on the NAACP Board of Mrectors and as vice president of the National AssMlotion of Colored Women. Other achievers include Edmo- nia Lewis (1843-1911), the first black woman to gain widespread recognition as an artist; Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), a forceful educator who founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935; Wilma Rudolph (b. 1940), who in 1960 became the first American woman to win three Olympic medals, and Bar bara Jordan (b. 1936), who in 1972 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas, the first black from the South to be elected to Congress since Recon struction. The Beaufort County Arts Council bought the exhibition from the Smithsonian for $200 and will leave it on dispiay in the Lane Gallery from Jan. 15 to Feb. 24 to commemorate Black His tory Month, which is February. “We are always trying to high light minority artists,” said Wan da Johnson, public relations coordinator for the Arts Council. “I think this exhibit points out a lot of the contributions of black women that we don't always think about or associate with them.” Also featured at the opening Jan. 15 will be an exhibition of photographs featuring North Carolina’s State Parks. TIM opening reception for both *‘BI»ek Women: Achievements Against the Odds " and “North Carolina State Parks”is hvm 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday. A reception urilJ 6e Aof M by the PamlicO’Tsr River Founda tion and the Eno River Association. The publie is inWied. BLACK WOMEN AiCHIEVlAIIMS \( ,\l\s| !! II ( )[ )| is SOJOURNER TRUTH (1797-1883) waa a akivo in Now York her akive MHo, lacriwila. Mlowing her oacapo, aho Irovolod aa a proodwr and later convorlod to the anti- alavory cause, sharing platforms with such notables of the day as Frederick Douglass. In the Civil war, she cellecled clothing and food for black soldiers and entertained troops with religious music and scripture. Later, she was instrumental in integrating public transportation In the nation's capital. EDUCATION K '®sir * mt . Jtt 4- ..V-.— V V 3) groi Oberiln College In 186S. A former slave, she later went to PhtlcMlelphla and became head principal for the Institute of Colored Youth. In 1871 she established a tecKhertraln- Ing program at the Institute which Included an unpre cedented practice-teaching course. She later persuaded the schoel board to establish the notion's first Industrial education department to teach trades to black youths. Today, the Institute Is located at Cheyiwy State College In Pennsylvania. Genealogist-Author-Lecturer To Speak CRBSWELL — Like many Americans — black and white — Dorothy Spruill Bedford was in spired by Alex Haley’s 1977 book and drama Roots. And like many, the inspiration compelled her to take a journey beyond her own life and into the lives of her ancestors. Over the next decade, she pored over census records and property books, sought out dis tant relatives and eventually dis covered a bill of sale tracing her great-great-great-grandmother to Somerset Place plantation in Creswell. When all was said and done, the personal search for her roots had become a family tree boast ing the names of more than 300 slaves under 21 different sur names who had worked at Some rset, one of the state’s largest plantations. In the late summer of 1986, her work was instrumental in bring ing together more than 2,000 de scendants of the slaves who had worked at Somerset. Their celebration at the restored 18th century plantation house was un precedented in the annals of genealo0, drawing participants not onljTfrom Washington Coun ty but Washington state. Today, she is program officer for the plantation, one of several sites along the Historic Albe marle Tour. She currently is spearheading a program to res tore the plantation as the nation’s first to factually depict the lives of both former slave and non slave populations. She also gives lectures, genealogical workshops and dramatic presentations bued on her research. On Thursday, Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m., she will speak on genealogy and the writing of her book, Somerset Homecoming, Re covering A Lost Heritage, as part of the Beaufort County Arts Council’s exhibit on the achieve ments of black women. Her presentation is co- sponsor^ by Beaufort County Community College. A reception sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta, a black sorority, will follow. Both events are flee and open to the public. Dorothy S. Redford p r-‘t V V P c d d f( P o jt P P ii y p o Cl ci c n: d bi Cl bn Cl VI D w tc ly til sc fa re sc di fo bj at at ei m gi at
West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 12, 1989, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75