Exhibitions
REVISIT/REIMAGINE
The Civil Rights Era in Maryland and Parallels of Today
FEBRUARY 24, 2024 – JANUARY 4, 2025
GUEST CURATOR: THOMAS JAMES
Thurgood Marshall | Courtesy Afro Charities 
Gloria Richardson (right), civil rights activist known as the leader of the Cambridge movement in the early 1960s in Cambridge, Maryland | Courtesy Afro Charities 
Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.), Founded in 1942 by an interracial group of University of Chicago students, pioneered key tactics of the modern civil rights movement, using sit-ins and other forms of civil disobedience to challenge segregation. | Courtesy Afro Charities 
Walter Carter, civil rights activist, chairman of the Baltimore chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E., 1960-1963) & Maryland coordinator for the 1963 March on Washington | Courtesy Afro Charities
| With 2024 being the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) and Banneker-Douglass Museum are declaring 2024 as “Maryland’s Year of Civil Rights” with exciting and relevant programming, exhibitions, and partnerships to commemorate the milestone year of this groundbreaking legislation. REVISIT/REIMAGINE: The Civil Rights Era in Maryland and Parallels of Today remembers the legacies of civil rights leaders and their effect on Black Marylanders and the United States in totality. In collaboration with Afro Charities, images of nationally and locally recognized civil rights leaders from the AFRO American Newspapers archives will be on display accompanied by the work of contemporary artists living and working in the Maryland area. Exhibiting Artists: Quinci Baker, Sanah Brown Bowers, Schroeder Cherry, Shaunte Gates, Kyle Hackett, Jeffrey Kent, Lex Marie, Murjoni Merriweather, Jason Patterson, Ernest Shaw, Victoria Walton, Lionel Fraizer White, and Redeat Wondemu. Curated by Thomas James, the exhibition space will be designed to emulate that of an interior home space with books, records, and other objects scattered throughout. This layout will serve as a visual representation of intergenerational relationships and how the issues of civil rights have transformed, progressed, and regressed throughout the 60 years between the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and our current existence today. Much like the civil rights leaders of the 1960s, artists today are utilizing their artistic practices to raise awareness, and drive commentary and conversation around topics such as education inequities, race-based violence, and unjust treatment from governmental entities. Additionally, the contemporary works in this exhibition amplify issues of today including disability justice, technological surveillance, and the relationship between spirituality and trauma. REVISIT/REIMAGINE also serves as a coming together of a future these civil rights leaders dreamed of. Their progress laid the groundwork for the leaders of today to continue to fight for rights today and continue to caretake for one another. This exhibition also displays artwork of positive self-image, communal unity, and celebrations of culture and life. Special Thanks: Afro Charities, Association of African American Museums, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation, Inc., BGE, Friends of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, National Park Service African American Civil Rights Network, Nicole Johnson of Baltimore Read Aloud, and PNC Bank. Opening Reception: Saturday, February 24th, 12pm – 4pm, at Banneker-Douglass Museum |
Permanent Exhibit
Deep Roots, Rising Waters:
A Celebration of African Americans in Maryland
Deep Roots, Rising Waters offers a comprehensive look at African American history in Maryland, spanning from 1633 to the 1960’s. Discover the influence of Black Marylanders on both state and national levels, while also uncovering the stories of lesser-known but equally significant individuals who shaped the Chesapeake region.
- Learn the story of Mathias De Sousa, Maryland’s first known colonist of African descent.
- Discover how Benjamin Banneker utilized his almanac as a strategic protest against slavery in his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson.
- Examine the historical advertisement for the auction where Kunta Kinte was sold into slavery.
- Listen to a powerful speech by Frederick Douglass as he condemned racism and slavery in America.
- Uncover the many ways Black women liberated themselves from captivity by learning about Harriet Tubman’s leadership on the Underground Railroad and Lear Green’s courageous act of shipping herself to freedom.
- Explore Maryland’s connection to Arctic exploration through the pioneering achievements of Matthew Henson and Herbert Frisby.
- Experience the rich cultural history of Carr’s Beach and Sparrow’s Beach through stories and music from these iconic African American spots of leisure.
- Learn about Thurgood Marshall’s relentless fight to dismantle segregation and transform the U.S. education system.
- Discover Gloria Richardson’s fearless activism and leadership in the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee, whose efforts ultimately expanded access to job training, housing, and education in Cambridge, Maryland, and beyond.
Past Exhibits
A Story to tell
Celebrating Black Art & Literacy in Maryland
NOVEMBER 8, 2023 – JANUARY 5, 2024
ARTIST: Ernest Shaw, Jr.
GUEST CURATOR: Chanel C. Johnson
| A Story to Tell | November 8, 2023 – January 5, 2024 |
| The Radical Voice of Blackness Speaks of Resistance and Joy | September 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023 |
| HONOR: Celebrating Black Women’s Art | April 19 – June 27, 2022 |
| Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake | September 18, 2021 – March 1, 2022 |
| The Black Vote Mural Project | February 15, 2020 – August 31, 2021 |
| Doing the Work: Celebrating 50 Years of the MCAAHC | August 10 – December 28, 2019 |
| Verda’s Place: An Homage to a Valiant Woman | March 8 – December 28, 2019 |
| Songs of the Caged Bird | January 12 – June 8, 2019 |
| Laurence Hurst Anniversary Show | January 12 – June 8, 2019 |
| Douglass Reading Room | July 5, 2018 – February 28, 2019 |
2009 – 2016 Exhibits – click here
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