Submitted by Michelle Brown
DELRAY BEACH, FL – March 11, 2022 – Black History Month ended on February 28, but that doesn’t mean Black history education cannot continue. Every month – especially April – is Black History Month at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, where upcoming exhibitions, programs and tours make the artistry and history of African Americans an interactive experience.
Experience ‘radical pleasure’ on April 1
Radical Pleasure, an exhibition pairing literary and visual art, will be on display April 1 – June 30, 2022, at the Spady Museum. In the show, 10 artists collaborate in a reciprocal ekphrastic (a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art) exhibition, challenging and championing our collective and personal relationships to pleasure.
The artists were anonymously paired, one visual and one literary, to create original work exploring what it means to make intentional, unflinching commitments to rest, joy, self-actualization, and freedom. The resulting work invites viewers and readers to consider individual and communal practices that embody and encourage radical pleasure – pleasure that disrupts the status quo, reclaims identity, and attempts to dismantle capitalism, racism, and the myriad of oppressive systems that seek to destroy Black women individually and collectively.
Radical Pleasure opens in April, in recognition and celebration of National Poetry Month. All works presented are new and original, created in response to honoring the importance of experiencing pleasure for yourself and advocating for others to do the same.
Celebrating Dr. King on the date of his transition/assassination, April 4
Due to the Omicron variant, the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum rescheduled its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast for April 4, another significant date in the civil rights leader’s life – the date of his transition. At 6:05 p.m. on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
In that instant, Dr. King’s fight against the injustices Black people faces on a daily basis ended, and his workload was redistributed to others in the fight. As the years go by and Dr. King’s legacy is passed down through the generations, those who accept the responsibility of fighting for justice and equity carry his legacy forward. Today’s generations enjoy the fruits of Dr. King’s fight.
At its upcoming Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, guests will be asked, “will you leave anything for your future generations?” The public is invited to come together to talk about and celebrate Dr. King’s legacy on the anniversary of his passing.
The “His Legacy Lives On” Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast will be held from 8 to 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 4, 2022, at Indian Spring Country Club, 11501 El Clair Ranch Rd, Boynton Beach, FL 33437. A full breakfast buffet is served at the beginning of the program.
Event sponsors include the Delray Beach Redevelopment Agency, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Palm Beach County, Tourist Development Council, and Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.
Let’s radically listen to multiracial children on April 21
In an effort to celebrate and promote the journey of Black cultural awareness, three of the most respected nonprofit organizations in Delray Beach are collaborating to present Authors Speak Series 2022, according to Charlene Farrington, Executive Director of Spady Cultural Heritage Museum; Marjorie Waldo, President & CEO of Arts Garage; and Renee Jadusingh, Executive Director of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Delray Beach.
The timely topic of this “free to see” series is The Impact of Race on American Society, offering an “interesting enlightening conversations with writers who have cultivated a perspective on Black cultural awareness through their research and personal experiences.”
At 7 p.m., Thursday, April 21, the series will welcome Dr. Ralina L. Joseph, PhD & Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith, PhD to talk about their book, Generation Mixed Goes to School: Radically Listening to Multiracial Kids
This book weaves together stories of mixed-race children and youth, teachers, and caregivers and investigates how implicit bias affects multiracial kids in unforeseen ways. In addition, it breaks out of the Black/White binary to include the perspective of mixed-race children from Asian American, Latinx, and Native American backgrounds and provides stories, academic research, and tangible exercises that together create the opportunity for meaningful anti-racist change.
