Each year in February, the United States celebrates “Black History Month”. For a month, the American capital commemorates the history and culture of the African-American community through exhibitions, concerts and debates. French Morning has selected 5 exhibitions not to be missed.
“We Return Fighting: The African American Experience in World War I”
If there is a museum to visit without moderation to understand the history of the African American community in the United States, the choice is without hesitation on the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum pays homage to a whole section of American history by methodically returning to the beginning of slavery to finish with the current challenges and the future of the African-American community.
As part of Black History Month, the museum is hosting the "We Return Fighting: The African American Experience in World War I" exhibit. Thanks to numerous testimonies, the exhibition brings back to life the brave black-American soldiers who joined the United States during the First World War, in the hope of returning as heroes. Their disillusionment will then mark the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Free exhibit, daily between 10 AM and 5.30 PM, until June 2020. National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1400 Constitution Avenue NW.
“Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words”
An icon of civil rights in the United States, Rosa Parks became famous for having participated in the end of segregationist laws, after having refused to leave her seat to a white man, in a bus from Montgomery in Alamaba, in 1955. Yet, as recalled the exhibition “Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words”, this activist brought much more. The Library of Congress stages the life and legacy of Rosa Parks through historical accounts, testimonies and rare videos of the one who marked the history of the United States. Free exhibition, daily between 8.30 am and 4.30pm, until December 2020. Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue SE.
The Library of Congress also offers a guided read on the history of nineteenth-century African American personalities: “African American Passages: Black Lives in 19th Century America”, Friday February 21 between 4pm and 6pm. Free admission, more information here.
“One Life: Marian Anderson”
On the occasion of Black History Month, the National Portrait Gallery honors the life and career of African-American singer Marian Anderson. Thanks to the exhibition “One Life: Marian Anderson”, the visitor discovers or rediscovers the dazzling career of this singer committed to segregationism in the 1950s. Her historic performance at the Lincoln Memorial has remained etched in the memories of the Americans and the National Portrait Gallery offers to dive into the universe of the singer to see her gold. Free admission, daily between 11.30am and 7pm until May 17, 2020, at the National Portrait Gallery, between 8th and F Streets NW.
The museum also offers a guided tour “African American and Black History Art Tour” Monday February 10 between 12pm and 2pm. Admission: 10 dollars. Tickets and information here.
“Rifs and Relation, African American Artists and the European Modernist Tradition”
The famous museum of paintings Phillips Collection organizes the exhibition “Riffs and Relations” between Saturday February 29 and Sunday May 24, 2020. Several modern works of African-American artists of the XXth and XXIth centuries are thus presented, with others paintings by European artists, in order to explore the connections and influences between different artists from different cultures. From February 28, 2020, between 10 and 12 dollars per person. More information here. The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street NW.
“Gun and Powder”
Presented until Sunday, February 23, the musical "Gun and Powder" tells the moving story of Mary and Martha Clarke, two African-American twins who pretend to be white women, to settle their mother's debt. Inspired by a true story, the musical tells how the two sisters test their loyalty, when they fall in love respectively, one with a white man, and the second with a black man. "Gun and Powder" is a love story about race, identity and family. “Gun and Powder” takes place until February 23 at the Signature Theater, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington. Tickets and information here.
