On the Dock for this Snippet -

Black History Events in August (Bmo, DC, NY, Rchmnd, WVa ) / DC Arts Events

Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia

Discovery Times Square Exposition
226 W 44th Street - Times Square
New York City
through Sunday, October 25, 2009

Ethiopia's rich cultural heritage, is one of the best-kept secrets in the world. “Lucy’s Legacy” introduces you to the incredible five million-year history of this fascinating country, the Cradle of Mankind.

More than 100 artifacts in the exhibit illuminate this rich heritage, including fossils, historical manuscripts, paintings, coins, musical instruments, implements of daily use, religious artifacts and more.

Photo:  The Obelisk of Axum is a 1,700-year-old, (78-foot) tall granite stele/obelisk in Axum, Ethiopia.

Click here for a dramatic online preview of the exhibition

Charles Town, West Virginia hosted the largest gathering of direct descendants of European-American patriot John Brown and his Raiders Friday, August 14. Brown’s effort to librate Africans from enslavement started with a raid on the Federal Armory in Harpers Ferry October 16-18, 1859. The raid failed, but it ignited a national debate over slavery and, historians now contend, led to the American Civil War.

A group will leave Washington, D.C. and tour greater Richmond, VA where Gabriel planned and executed one of the most profound revolutionary movements in the United States during the summer of 1800. The tour will also include the slave port where the ships came in (from there the group will walk the same route that the Africans were forced to walk to the auction block) and where Gabriel was executed. This year Haile Gerima, the legendaryEthiopian-American film maker, joins the group as he collects footage for a film on Maroons (Africans who escaped their European enslavers and formed independent societies in the Americas) that he is working on.

Black August Planning Organization is charging $20 for the day trip or you can follow their van/bus at no costs from Sankofa Bookstore, 2714 Georgia Ave. The pilgrimage is Saturday, August 22, 9a to 9p. For more information call 202.271.7763.

Port of Harlem “Praising the Past” contributor C.R. Gibbs describes the inspiring but little known story of rebellion and resistance by enslaved Africans not just in America but throughout the western hemisphere Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 3p at the Maya Angelou Public Charter School,1851 9th St NW (9th & T St NW). Free.

Read: Before Obama - Black Presidents in the Americas by C.R. Gibbs in the current print issue.

Honfleur Highlights

East of the River Artist

For the third year running, Honfleur Gallery is featuring artists rooted in Wards 7 and 8 in their East of the River exhibition. This year’s collection includes installation, photography, painting and digital prints that are the artists interpretation of the theme, “Beauty and the Beast.”

A jury of local arts leaders and artists selected for the exhibition Bruce McNeil, who POH features on its latest cover. McNeil’s digital images illustrate an oddly surreal characters overlaid in an urban jungle, the familiar environment of sloping porches and caved roofs familiar in certain areas of Wards 7 and 8. Other selected artists include Deborah Terry, BK Adams, Marlon Normon, Ashley Boyd, Terence Nicholson, Lance Wiggs, Liz Pester and James Terrell.

This exhibit runs through Friday, September 25 at Honfleur Gallery, 1241 Good Hope Rd. SE Washington D.C. Admission is free.

Photo: Camille Mosley- Pasley, Bruce McNeil, Jason Miccolo Johnson.

The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities 6th Annual Dance DC Festival: Experience Global Movement highlights 50 of the city's most talented performers at more than 14 venues throughout the District of Columbia from August 28-30, 2009. The festival will feature a wide array of folk and traditional music and dance forms from various cultures. Some genres include hip-hop, salsa, swing, and tango. Performances as well as interactive workshops will be free to the public over this three-day event.

All 50 acts, at 14 venues from The National Zoo to the Anacostia Art Gallery & Boutique and Honfluer Gallery, and 10 workshops on each of the three days is free.