Spirit of Tuskegee plane on Display at New National Museum of African American History and Culture

Photo Courtesy of the Washington Post

Carl Johnson, the last of Tuskegee Airman to graduate, still vividly remembers the challenges against segregation and bigotry the Tuskegee airmen from World War II had to overcome. The Tuskegee Institute, the historically black university founded by Booker T. Washington provided the airmen with rooms, food, hangars and flight instructors. It wasn’t until 2007 that Carl Johnson and other Tuskegee Airmen were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Colin Powell, who served as the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “You showed America that there was nothing a black person couldn’t do.” The nation’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture features their plane, the Spirit of Tuskegee. We salute them for their service!

The Julius Rosenwald Fund financed the building of Moton Field, the primary flight facility for the training of the African American pilots at Tuskegee Institute. The Rosenwald film closes with a segment about the airmen and includes footage of Eleanor Roosevelt (a board member of the Rosenwald fund) visiting and praising them. The upcoming release of the Rosenwald DVD and Extras will also feature a segment about the Tuskegee Institute and its mission.

Read for about this story here.

James Baldwin’s Legacy

A recent review of the Jesmyn Ward edited book, The Fire this Time, posted by the NY Times cites the collection of essays as a powerful reflection of the very experiences described by the Rosenwald Fund recipient, James Baldwin, through a modern lens. This reflection can be seen directly in the books title, taken from Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. It’s incredible to see that Baldwin’s impact is still clear more than 50 years later.

Read the full book review by Dwight Garner, here.

“Invisible Man: Gordon Parks and Ralph Ellison in Harlem” in Chicago

A new exhibit entitled, “Invisible Man: Gordon Parks and Ralph Ellison in Harlem”, has opened at the Art Institute in Chicago and will run through August 28th. The exhibit features the project, “Harlem is Nowhere”, which features black and white vignettes photographed by Parks juxtaposed with excerpts of Ellison’s, Invisible Man in order to depict the terrible living conditions of African Americans in 1948’s Harlem.

Read the full article on the NY Times website, here.

Rosenwald School Graduate Nominated for a Tony Award

The Tony Awards will be broadcast on June 12th from the Beacon Theater in New York City. Among those talented people nominated is the Rosenwald film’s very own George Wolfe. Wolfe, who graduated from a Rosenwald school in Kentucky, has been nominated for the categories “Best Book of a Musical” and “Best Direction of a Musical” for his work on the new Broadway show, Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. The show itself has also been nominated for best musical and tells a story of the production of the original 1921 show, Shuffle Along, and it’s effect on Broadway and race relations. The production stars 6-time-Tony-award-winning actress Audra McDonald with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter, and has been nominated for a total of ten Tony Awards including “Scenic Design”, “Costume Design”, and “Lighting Design”. The show has previously won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for “Best Musical”. Those wishing to see the show should consider doing so as soon as possible if they wish to see it with Audra McDonald (who should’ve been nominated for “Best Leading Actress”), as she plans to leave the show in August due to a pregnancy.

The Ciesla Foundation wishes good luck to George! You will be able to see more of him in the special features of the upcoming Rosenwald DVD.

Visit the show’s website, here!

Tony Award Nominated Writer/Director, George Wolfe

Augusta Savage gets nod in NYT Style Magazine

In a brief column titled “The Writer’s Room”, Darryl Pinckney mentions Augusta Savage while reflecting on the room in which he wrote his recent novel. The room was part of what was once the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts, founded by Savage, and later became the Harlem Community Art Center. Augusta Savage was awarded money from the Rosenwald Fund.

Read the full article in the NYTimes, here.

Salon 94 in New York now displaying the installation, “Segregation Story: Gordon Parks”

In 2012, archivists at the Gordon Parks Foundation uncovered a vast collection of photographs on color slide film. The photographs were taken by Gordon Parks for Life in Alabama in 1956. “The project was to be a counterpoint to misinformation spread by segregationists who claimed that a racially separated, caste-based society was good for everyone.” Only 26 photographs were published in the magazine.

Now, 59 years later, a selection of these photographs are on display at Salon 94 in New York in the installation, “Segregation Story: Gordon Parks”.

Read the full article here.