Black History Month 2021
The Springfield Museums celebrate Black History!
In honor of Black History Month, celebrated throughout the month of February, the Museums highlighted Black leadership in Springfield across all social media platforms, and shared artwork by and about the Black community in the weekly series Treasures at the Springfield Museums in the Sunday Republican.
Below you will find three different examples of the content shared throughout the month. The Springfield Museums are dedicated to celebrating Black History past, present and future. Follow us on Facebook (@SpringfieldMuseums), Instagram (@SpringfieldMuseums), and Twitter (@SpfldMuseums) for more!
Elizabeth “Mum Bet” Freeman (c. 1744-1829) was the first enslaved African American to file and win a freedom suit in Massachusetts. Her suit, Brom and Brett v. Ashely (1781), was cited in the Massachusstes Supreme Judicial Court appellate review of Quock Walker’s freedom suit. When the court upheld Walker’s freedom under the state’s constitution, the ruling was considered to have implicitly ended slavery in Massachusetts.
Mum Bet’s biography, and the biographies of many other women who have changed the course of history, can be found in Voice of Resilience: The Intersection of Women on the Move in the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts until March 14, 2021.
Currently on view at the D’ Amour Museum of Fine Arts, This Is Us: Regional Portraiture Today exemplifies the excellence, vision, and skill of our region’s artists. Many works explore the pandemic, including this poignant representation of artist Andrae Green’s mother.
Momma, Green said, memorializes and honors his mom, who he misses. “This memorializing is brought home even more now because of the distance brought on by the COVID lockdowns.”
Found in the D’ Amour Museum until May 2, 2021.
The Ubora Award, derived from the Swahili word for “excellence,” is presented by the African Hall Subcommittee to an African-American adult who has demonstrated a commitment to the Greater Springfield area and exhibited excellence in the field of community service, education, science, humanities or the arts.
Maestro Raymond Harvey was the first Ubora Award recipient in 1992.
The complete bios of all past recipients is available by visiting: https://springfieldmuseums.org/ubora/
The Museums were honored at the chance to highlight the Ubora Award recipients on social media, and bring attention to the amazing work those in the local Springfield community do!
We hope you enjoyed the Black History Month content and invite you to explore SpringfieldMuseums.org/ubora for more!
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