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Black History Month Exhibit Opening

February 12, 2020 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris, the Providence City Archives, and the Providence City Council are proud to invite you their 5th annual Black History Month Exhibit Opening:

“ Pillars on Race: The Story of Race in Providence From 1935 to Today” which takes a look at the Black/African-American community in 20th-century Providence through four pillars of progress and stagnation – Housing, Education, and Development, Structured Racism, and Gentrification.

Throughout the exhibit, you will see some highlights, like a feature on housing activist Maria Lopes and some low-lights, such as community redlining beginning in the late 1930s and community displacement that occurred during the redevelopment era of the 20th century. Also, featured are neighborhood highlights such as Fox Point, Lippitt Hill, and the Southside. Workforce and education integration and labor unions such as the Longshoreman are also featured.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in the now-famous “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” “Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.” In accordance, we believe that anyone living in, from, or with ties to Providence is considered a part of its ever-changing story. This year’s exhibit will include a new interactive experience: Tell Your History. Too often do we learn the history of “headliner” names – politicians, business leaders, founders, etc. — and are deprived of the rich, captivating, and frequently mundane (and yet important) stories that exist within the community. While our history is in the past, our future’s history is happening right now and we want to hear what you have to say.

A station will be set up within our exhibit that will allow guests to contribute their stories. Questionnaires and writing prompt will be provided for all age groups to document their story. At a later date, all answers will be bound into a book and preserved in a collection in our city’s archives.

Photo Courtesy of Sam Beck featuring the 50th Reunion of the Long Shoremen who were mostly of Cape Verdean descent.

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Date:
February 12, 2020
Time:
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
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