“James Baldwin’s America” continues to be one of the most popular and challenging discussion programs Humanities New York offer. Here, we check in with with Lindsey R. Swindall and Grant Cooper, two of the facilitators for the HNY Reading & Discussion groups, as they recount how the program has changed their lives and the communities they have worked in. HNY: You talk in your essay about your initial encounter with Baldwin’s writing, and I’m wondering if there are any other experiences or history that you have reading Baldwin’s work, or moments that stand out to you that might have prompted […]
Portable History: Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow
Museums continually test new ways to produce exhibits that are accessible to people beyond the doors of the institution. Sometimes exhibitions are extended through websites or phone apps, but digital approaches have their limits as well. With this new exhibit, the New-York Historical Society goes a step further, by producing a panel exhibition that presenters with even the smallest venues can download and publish. Touching on current events, the exhibition “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow” explores the struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded in the 50 years after the Civil War. Humanities New York […]
Breaking Down Stereotypes at the Iroquois Indian Museum
Museums increasingly strive to provide exhibit content that is relevant and inclusive, presenting visitors with a range of perspectives and voices in order to spark reflection and dialogue. Many now offer thoughtful interpretation supported by collections and archives while allowing audiences to participate in the process of meaning-making. Given their unique position in the civic landscape, museums are well-equipped to help audiences navigate difficult histories and issues. This is apparent in a recent HNY grant-funded exhibition at the Iroquois Indian Museum, an anthropological museum located in the Mohawk Valley less than an hour west of Albany. The Museum’s current exhibit, […]
Virtual Reality Immerses Visitors at Albany History Fair 2018
Participatory experiences top the list of expectations for today’s visitors to historic house museums and other cultural institutions, which presents both challenges and opportunities for the field. One new avenue for audience engagement is the incorporation of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Humanities New York spoke with Deborah Emmons-Andarawis, Acting Director of Historic Cherry Hill, and Krysta Dennis and Michael Lounello from Siena College’s Creative Arts Department to discuss the debut of VR at the Albany History Fair in May 2018. Historic Cherry Hill and the college’s Creative Arts Department laid the groundwork for this VR experiment through last year’s celebration […]
Humanities Behind Bars: Educational Programs for Incarcerated Youth on Rikers Island
Humanities New York sits down with Josie Whittlesey of Drama Club and Cameron Rasmussen and Ryan Burvick from the “Beats, Rhymes and Justice” program. They discuss the Action Grant-supported projects they offer to incarcerated youth (men and women under the age of 21) on Rikers Island. HNY: Rikers Island sounds like a difficult place to get an educational program going. How did you start it? Josie: I started with one class at the Robert N. Davoren Complex. It took a long time to get invited in. When I finally got there, it was just a matter of doing a weekly […]
“History from Below” An Interview with Jen Hoyer, Interference Archive
Powerful graphic design and social mission intersect in “Finally Got The News,” an exhibition at Brooklyn’s Interference Archive funded through a Humanities New York Action Grant. The mission of Interference Archive is to explore the relationship between cultural production and social movements. This work manifests in an open stacks archival collection, publications, a study center, and public programs including exhibitions, workshops, talks, and screenings; all of which encourage critical and creative engagement with the rich history of social movements. Last month we sat down with project director Jen Hoyer to discuss the Archive and this exhibition. HNY: Tell us […]
Black Lives Matter and the Democratic Necessity of Social Movements
The following is an excerpt from Deva Woodly’s upcoming book, Black Lives Matter and the Democratic Necessity of Social Movements, on the role of social movements, up to and including The Movement for Black Lives. Deva is an Assistant Professor of Politics at The New School for Social Research. Her work explores the ways that public meanings define the problems that the polity understands itself to share, as well as the range of choices that citizens perceive themselves as having. If you’d like to explore the broader historical context of today’s social movements, join us on November 28th when Woodly […]
Sandy Ground & St. John’s Build Community Through Humanities Projects
Last year, St. John’s University celebrated New York’s African-American history and the diversity of Staten Island with “Sandy Ground at St. John’s: Faces of the Underground Railroad,” a public humanities and educational outreach program which brings the community into the history of the first free black community in New York State. Funded by a HNY Action grant, the installation, series of four public lectures, and K-12 school visits engaged audiences in the past, present, and future of the borough’s black communities. Read more about the program here. HNY: How did you put the Sandy Ground project together? Robert: I am […]
Interview: Women’s Suffrage History in Rochester
Formed in 2016, The Rochester Area Suffrage Centennial Alliance (RASCA) is a network of institutions that are coordinating celebrations for the anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in New York State. The Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library received a Humanities New York (HNY) Vision Grant to support the RASCA planning process. They also received an Action Grant for the “Because of Women Like Her” exhibit, which is on display at the Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County through October 14, 2017. HNY: RASCA involves a large network of institutions in the Rochester area. What […]
Interview: Bierman and Thompson, Leaders of The League of Women Voters of New York State
Interview conducted by Nicholas MacDonald, Humanities New York HNY: How did you each get started with the League of Women Voters? Laura: I joined the League in 1982, when I moved from Washington D.C. to Albany. I was worried about not being as involved in politics, that turned out to not be a concern! Dare: I was pretty apolitical for the first 25 years of my life, but then I accidentally got a job teaching middle school social studies. Having to teach the Constitution really opened my eyes to civic responsibility; after that, I became involved with the League of […]
