Three Haverford College Exhibits Explore African American History Through Art

The College's Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery presents Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War, an exhibition of photography by Haverford Professor of Fine Arts William Earle Williams; and Emancipation and Denigration: Thomas Nast and His Colleagues Picture Black America, a collection of wood engravings by the famed 19th-century illustrator and his contemporaries. Running concurrently in the gallery of Haverford's John B. Hurford '60 Humanities Center (located in Stokes Hall Room 102) and the Multicultural Center (Stokes Room 106) will be A Journey Towards Hope: Underground Railroad Sites in Oberlin, Ohio, a display of photography by Coriana Close. All exhibits are free and open to the public. An opening reception for all exhibits will be held Saturday, Sept. 29, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery. In addition, a free symposium called“From Slavery to Freedom: The Formation of African American and American Identity,” will be held Saturday, Oct. 27 from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. in Stokes Hall Room 102. Unsung Heroes features 40 black-and-white photographs of battle sites in both the North and South, some historically renowned and some largely undiscovered. It is part of a series that Williams has pursued for more than a decade.“Too often the historical and artistic legacy of black accomplishment is ignored,” he says.“As an artist the memory of these soldiers has inspired my artistic imagination. The ground they fought on is sacred and an inspiration for all Americans. These sites dispel the myth that blacks were given their citizenship and rights after the Civil War without having fought for and earned them.” Williams received his B.A. in history at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. and his M.F.A. at Yale University School of Art in New Haven, Conn. He has been a professor of fine arts at Haverford since 1978, and a curator of photography since 1979. Curated by Jay G. Williams, Walcott Bartlett Professor of Religious Studies at Hamilton College, Emancipation and Denigration spotlights the sharp political commentary and biting wit of the man called“The Father of the American Caricature,” who first became famous as an illustrator for Harper's Weekly and later as a campaigner against corrupt politicians like William Maeger“Boss” Tweed. The images in A Journey Towards Hope include large-format color photographs—many taken at night with long exposure times—of buildings in Oberlin that were essential to the abolitionist movement.“My photography is meant to serve not only as a document, but also as a reminder of what took place right here in Oberlin in the not so distant past,” says Coriana Close, who graduated from Oberlin College's fine arts program with honors in 2006.“In the darkness of slavery, Oberlin was a shining light, a candle in the distance symbolizing freedom.” A Journey Towards Hope has also appeared at Oberlin and Syracuse University. The Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery is open Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from noon-5 p.m., and Wednesdays until 8 p.m. The Humanities Center Gallery and the Multicultural Center are open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 3-5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 4-5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 1-5 p.m. The Oct. 27 symposium“From Slavery to Freedom” will feature distinguished speakers—including William Earle Williams, Coriana Close, and Jay G. Williams—addressing the history, culture, and military and literary expression of African American feeling and thought in pre and post Civil War America. The symposium is sponsored by the Humanities Center. For more information, contact Campus Exhibitions Coordinator Matthew Callinan at (610) 896-1297 or mcallina [at] haverford.edu.