Community Day: A Movement in Every Direction

Join us to celebrate the opening of A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration with a free event for all ages.

Enjoy free admission to the exhibition, art-making with Safiyah Cheatam, interactive dance led by Moving History, on-site participation in the Legacies of the Great Migration Interactive, and appetizers from H3irloom Food Group and Mera Kitchen Collective.

Schedule of Events

 

1 – 5 p.m.

Free admission to A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration.
Special Exhibition Gallery

Pop-up card storytelling art-making activity inspired by Zoë Charlton’s Permanent Change of Station with social practice artist Safiyah Cheatam.
Classroom

1 – 3:30 p.m.

Meet and greet Joshua Johnson Council members, explore the exhibition’s catalogue and critical reader and books by acclaimed author Isabel Wilkerson, and learn more about what you can do about present-day migration with the Esperanza Center and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services.
Antioch Court

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

A sampling of cuisine from the southern U.S. and abroad with Mera Kitchen Collective and H3irloom Food Group.
Antioch Court

2:45 – 3:10 p.m.

Uphill, a performance that chronicles the evolution of African American music and dance from 1910-1970 with Moving History.
Fox Court

4 p.m.

Isabel Wilkerson Lecture and Q&A

A virtual lecture with Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, followed by a hybrid conversation with co-curator of the exhibition, Jessica Bell Brown. Registration is required to attend the lecture. Learn more.

Participants

 

Safiyah Cheatam

Baltimore-based conceptual and social practice artist, Safiyah Cheatam is best known for her interactive photo installations portraying the duality of Black Muslim experiences using augmented reality and her co-produced, awards-nominated Afrofuturist narrative podcast OBSIDIAN featured in The Washington Post. Inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois’ data visualizations and resonating with Martine Syms’ The Mundane Afrofuturist Manifesto (2013), Safiyah has sought to illuminate real-life stories of Black uplift in the U.S. to show Afrofuturism’s presence in daily life. She has exhibited artworks nationally and has sustained relationships with several local institutions where she’s served as a teaching artist, collaborator, researcher, and advisor.

Mera Kitchen Collective

Mera Kitchen Collective is a Baltimore-based collective of individuals from around the world with a passion for sharing our cuisine to foster empowerment and celebrate culture. Promoting equitable access to opportunities, building community, and providing living wages are the keys to long-term self-determination, independence, and happiness. In our first restaurant in Mt. Vernon, guests can enjoy cuisine and cocktails from Latin America, Syria, and Burkina Faso. We hope to use the cooperative model as a successful tool for wealth generation and fostering empowerment. In response to COVID-19, we launched a community meal commitment; as of October 2022, we’ve made over 180,000 meals and counting.

H3irloom Food Group

Based in Baltimore, MD, H3irloom Food Group cultivates meaningful culinary experiences that celebrate the region’s authentic foodways, culture, and community, led by Chefs David & Tonya Thomas, Linda Taliaferro (CEO), and Floyd Taliaferro IV (CFO). H3irloom is a 100% Black-owned company with a mission to uplift the Black food narrative and provide a deeply personal approach to the Black food experience that’s rooted in history and culture. Built on a foundation of friendship and a passion for true hospitality, the three in H3irloom represents the familial bond between the founding partners as a nod to their past, present, and future together.

Moving History

Moving History teaches the story of African American people through kinetic engagements. The cultural heritage of Black Americans is explored through culinary education, instrumental and vocal music exploration, and movement activities for youth and adults. As a practical solution for the need for repair, restoration, and acknowledgement of harm to the Black community, our cultural history programming illuminates the beauty and texture of Black culture before and after the Mayflower. Jim Crow is viewed through the lens of Tap, the Great Migration through Vernacular Jazz, the Harlem Renaissance through Lindy Hop, Desegregation through Swing Dance, Civil Rights through Locking, Popping, and the impact of Soul Train, and Black Liberation Movements through Breakdance.

Esperanza Center

The Esperanza Center is a comprehensive resource center whose mission is to welcome immigrants by offering hope, compassionate services, and the power to improve their lives. Since 1963, immigrants from all over the world have trusted the center to help them navigate life in a new country. Our dedicated staff and volunteers provide services related to education, health care, immigration legal matters, family reunification, anti-trafficking, and general community support to thousands of immigrants each year.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Headquartered in Baltimore, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is the largest faith-based national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to serving immigrants and refugees. Our work focuses on reuniting families, resettling refugees, and promoting the well-being of New Americans through economic empowerment, mental health services, and community-based welcome.