ABG’s “Reflection and Reckoning” gallery showcases impact of Brown v. Board 70 years later

Caption: Ted Ellis with his work showcased at Anderson Brickler Gallery.

Anderson Brickler Gallery (ABG) is showcasing an exhibit titled “Reflection and Reckoning: Brown v. Board of Education at 70.” The gallery displays artwork celebrating the Brown v. Board decision 70 years ago that marked the end of the Jim Crow era in the United States. 

The exhibit will be open from Feb. 2 to May 18 and features collections of four black artists, including Dr. Debra Jean Ambush from Maryland, Tallahassee locals Tavani Williams and Melvin McCray, and FSU Civil Rights Institute director Ted Ellis. Alongside their artwork are poems and archival materials from Tallahassee that illustrate the fight for equality in education. 

The owner of ABG, Dr. Celeste Hart, expressed a need for the visibility of black art, especially during Black History Month and the bicentennial celebration of Tallahassee. 

“We knew that there would be a lot of historical celebration for the 200th anniversary of Tallahassee, and I wanted to make sure black history was included,” Hart said. “Talented African American artists in town don’t have a place to showcase their work, and the gallery exists to give them a presence and a voice.”

Last month, the Florida Board of Governors defunded diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in higher education. In the ruling, Florida’s State Board of Education announced that “strict regulations” would be implemented to limit public funds for DEI programs, activities, and policies at the 28 state college campuses. Under the law, Florida’s 12 state universities will also be barred from spending state funding on DEI activities.

By highlighting the history of Brown v. Board and the battle for civil rights in the United States, the gallery hopes to combat the state’s restrictions on DEI.

Brown v. Board was composed of five cases combined into one to be heard before the Supreme Court. Dr. Ambush, one of the featured artists, has familial ties to Farmville, VA, where one of the five cases, Davis v. The School Board of Prince Edward County, originated. Her artwork is committed to passing down the ancestral legacy of leaders in the Civil Rights Era and redefining the impact of curriculum. 

“A curriculum begins in something so simple as a conversation,” said Dr. Ambush. “African Americans have always been fighting for our curriculum and the ability to carve out a future that keeps our historical legacy in mind.”

This history can be observed throughout ABG’s walls as the artifacts in the exhibition showcase the impact that the decision had on the community. Ellis’ paintings, part of the “Art of Justice” collection, were created to showcase the urgency for justice in the African American community. 

“[Brown v. Board of Education serves as] a reminder of both progress made and the ongoing challenges within [the] educational system,” said Ellis. “I hope exhibitions like this inspire students to engage critically with history, examine the historical Supreme Court cases and understand the ongoing struggle for justice, and become agents of positive change in their communities.”

Williams expressed discontent with the current state of education, particularly in Florida. His artwork converses with the indirect impacts of the Brown v. Board decision and addresses some of the disparities African American students still face. 

“Most of public [secondary] education is geared towards policing, and children don’t need that–they need nurturing,” Williams said. “I’m also disappointed in public education because of the lack of funding. I don’t think it’s fair.” 

Despite continuing educational disparities, the artwork showcased in the gallery reflects the African American community’s resistance and redefinition of their circumstances. In the 70 years since the Brown v. Board decision, this exhibit and its artists express that there is much to be proud of and much to work towards. 

“Art has the power to spark dialogue, challenge perceptions, and advocate for change, fostering a more inclusive educational environment,” Ellis said. “By learning from the past, we can shape a more objective future.”

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Five musicians who hated Elvis Presley

Affectionately dubbed ‘The King of Rock and Roll’, Elvis Presley had a transformational impact on popular culture. Taking R&B and rock and roll to the masses, hits such as ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, and ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ became anthems for a generation and facilitated the great artistic innovations of the 1960s.

Elvis was a storied figure who lived an extraordinary life. He rose out of a poor background in the Deep South to become the poster boy for a sexual and musical revolution. Then, in a role reversal later in life, he was confirmed as a defining figure of American extravagance and conservatism in the Cold War era. From the crooning to the shake of the hips, Presley took care of business, with his work ranking among the most influential of all time. 

Despite being so significant, or perhaps because of that importance, many grew to loathe the Tupelo native, including fellow musicians. Although he might be celebrated for bridging the gap between Black and white America in an age where racism ran rampant, some rightly point out that one of Presley’s greatest tricks was plucking from the genres that he loved, which were inextricable from the Black community, and then making them his own without any gratification paid to those who he took from. 

Regardless of blues pioneer and friend of Presley’s, BB King maintaining, “Elvis didn’t steal any music from anyone. He just had his own interpretation of the music he’d grown up on, same is true for everyone. I think Elvis had integrity,” there are those who asserted that he stole his fast track to success.

Elsewhere, Presley drew the ire of other musicians for his opulence, right-wing politics, and the rumour that the controversial President Richard Nixon might well have hired him to spy on other artists whose work was much more subversive than the glossy shellac he symbolised.

Find the list of five musicians who hated Elvis Presley below.

Musicians who hated Elvis Presley:

Johnny Rotten

While punk is inextricable from the rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly and blues genres, there should be no surprise that Sex Pistols stalwart Johnny Rotten hated Elvis Presley for what he represented. So, what better occasion to outline his hatred for him than straight after Presley’s death?

In 1977, Rolling Stone spoke to Sex Pistols and their manager, Malcolm McLaren – who was of the generation that grew up with Presley – about his death. Unsurprisingly, McLaren was saddened to learn of Presley’s passing. “What’s that?” McLaren questioned. “Elvis Presley died…makes you feel sad, doesn’t it? Like your grandfather died… Yeah, it’s just too bad it couldn’t have been Mick Jagger.”

However, Johnny Rotten took a much less emotional approach and claimed he was happy to see the back of Presley. “Fuckin’ good riddance to bad rubbish,” he asserted. “I don’t give a fuckin’ shit, and nobody else does either. It’s just fun to fake sympathy, that’s all they’re doin’.”

Years later, Rotten seemed to slightly retract his abrasive original position in the San Diego Union-Tribune: “Elvis is absolutely irrelevant. He was something my parents liked, so I naturally dismissed him. I’ve never been overly fond of rock `n’ roll anyway, (although) I don’t wish death on anyone. I’ve had far more awful examples (than Elvis) right up close and personal to really bother about someone like him.”

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John Lennon

In the early days, John Lennon and the rest of his Beatles bandmates were big fans of Elvis Presley and covered several of his songs in their career. In fact, he made such an impact on Lennon that he once said: “Nothing affected me until I heard Elvis. Without Elvis, there would be no Beatles.”

However, according to reports, as soon as the pair first met, Lennon realised that Presley was everything he hated, and the feeling was mutual. “For John, it was a very disillusioning moment because he loved Elvis’s records, so to discover he was a right-wing southern bigot was a big shock,” veteran DJ Bob Harris – who interviewed Lennon on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1975 – told The Independent. “Equally, Elvis saw Lennon as being this upstart Liverpuddlian know-it-all who’d taken his crown. He usurped Elvis and he was resentful as hell.”

Furthermore, Lennon would also come to hate Presley’s work. Despite his music providing much inspiration when a youth, Lennon told Juke Box Jury in 1963 that he felt the bastion of rock ‘n’ roll had lost his touch: “Well, I’ve got all his early records, and I keep playing them. He mustn’t make another like this. But somebody said today he sounds like Bing Crosby now, and he does. I don’t like him anymore”.

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Big Mama Thornton

One of Presley’s most famous hits is ‘Hound Dog’. However, his version was a cover of the original by blues legend Big Mama Thornton, which Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote to facilitate her arresting vocals. Her version was a big hit, shipping half a million copies, but only three years later, Presley’s would catapult him to international stardom. With millions of records sold, he would never look back, eclipsing Thornton in the narrative.

In a distillation of the accusation that Presley pilfered from those who inspired him without any form of acknowledgement, he totally overshadowed Thornton’s success, and she made next to nothing from his hit song. She once explained: “I got one check for $500 and never saw another”.

According to her biographer Michael Spörke in Big Mama Thornton: The Life and Music, during a 1969 performance at Newport Folk Festival, Thornton referred to ‘Hound Dog’ as “the record I made Elvis Presley rich on.” She allegedly described it at another show as “a song I got robbed of.”

After starting the track at another concert, Thornton stopped, turning around and staring angrily at her drummer, “This ain’t no Elvis Presley song, son,” she reportedly expressed. Enraged, she kicked him off the drums and showed him how to play it, all in front of the audience. According to Spörke, this happened regularly and was a theatrical means of Thornton wrestling ownership of the song back from Presley.

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Wynton Marsalis

Another figure who is acutely aware of Elvis Presley’s cultural offences is acclaimed jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Also hailing from the Deep South, he knows a thing or two about rock ‘n’ roll and has even collaborated with Eric Clapton because of it. Once, the New Orleans native called ‘The King’ “distasteful”.

He told the San Diego Union-Tribune: “To me, Elvis represented somebody who — because our country was not ready then to embrace the black artist and make them No. 1 — became No. 1 because of his rendition of what some black people sounded like. What made it distasteful is that we had people who could do it better than him, but who couldn’t be accepted at that time because of the colour of their skin.”

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Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley had an interesting history. Famously, ‘The King’ wanted to cover Parton’s 1973 number one hit ‘I Will Always Love You’, which she was excited about. However, it all fell apart after Elvis told Parton that he wanted at least half of the publishing deal to cover it.

“I cried all night,” Parton recalled about this outcome on the Living and Learning with Reba McEntire podcast in 2020. “Oh, I just pictured Elvis, like, singing it. And I know that Elvis loved it … but it’s true. I said no.”

Years before reflecting on the heartbreak, Parton had already expressed her disdain for Presley. They might have come from similar backgrounds in the Deep South, but the country star’s outlook on life and money differed greatly from the rock ‘n’ roll heroes. Parton said that she had no desire to be a star like Presley, who she felt embodied what was wrong with fame and riches.

“I don’t want to be a star if I have no life,” she told Rolling Stone in 1980. “I’m not willing to be like Elvis, who had no personal life. If I want to go out to a movie, I just go out to a movie. If I want to go out to supper, I go out to supper, because I happen to feel that I have no reason to be afraid of the people.”

“I think one of the big mistakes celebrities make is that they think because they are so popular, it sets them apart and makes them like gods instead of just extremely lucky people,” Parton added. “I really feel sorry for a whole lot of stars, and I hope and pray I never get that way.”

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Have your Say: Vote now on your choice of Amazing Speaker event for Bruce County Museum

Last year, the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre (BCM&CC) launched its first post-Covid Speaker’s event that featured national bestselling author, CBC columnist, and Indigenous advocate, Jesse Wente, and it was a great success!

This year, the Museum is planning the return of the Speaker’s event with some very famous possibilities and they want to hear your thoughts as to which speaker would be of most interest to you.

CBC host White Coat, Black Art

Help the Museum choose its 2024 speaker by taking this brief survey and tell us who you’d most like to see in person (right here in Bruce County!), and for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Dizzy Bird coffee.

To qualify, please complete the survey by
Friday, February 16th.

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Auditions at DMTC, Woodland Opera House introducing new musical | Center Stage

The Davis Musical Company will be holding auditions for their production of “Into the Woods” next month.

“Into the Woods” centers around a childless baker and his wife whose only wish is to lift the family curse and live happily ever after.

“An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding hood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? They’re all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy tale,” said a press release from DMTC.

Auditions will be held on Sunday, March 3 or Monday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Jean Henderson Performing Arts Center at 607 Pena Dr. in Davis. Call backs will be the following day on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Those interested in auditioning should bring a prepared song not from “Into the Woods,” sheet music with piano accompaniment and be prepared for cold readings.

The show opens on Friday, April 26.

For more information, visit https://dmtc.org/.

• • •

The Davis Musical Theatre Company will also be holding auditions for its Young Performers’ Theatre production of “Madagascar – A Musical Adventure Jr” next month.

Best friends Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity at New York’s Central Park Zoo. Alex is king of the urban jungle and never content to leave well enough alone. Letting his curiosity get the best of him, he makes his escape to explore the world.

Auditions will be held on Monday, March 11 or Tuesday, March 12 at 4:30 p.m. at the Jean Henderson Performing Arts Center at 607 Pena Dr. in Davis. Call backs will be held the following day on March 13 at 4 p.m.

Those interested in auditioning should bring a prepared song that is not from “Madagascar,” sheet music with piano accompaniment and should be ready for cold readings.

All roles are open and may be performed by an actor of any gender. The show opens on Saturday, May 4.

For more information, visit https://dmtc.org/.

• • •

The John Natsoulas Gallery will be hosting an exciting exhibition that will feature the figurative paintings of four African American artists.

“Four For The Figure” is set to include the work of Larry Clark, Dr. Clarence Major, Kevin Snipes and Ira Watkins, all of whom channel their painterly aesthetics through canvas and ceramics to explore the figure’s character and to celebrate their shared African American identity, according to a press release from the John Natsoulas Gallery.

Originally from Louisiana, Clark moved to San Francisco in 1987 where he drew and painted at the Hospitality House’s Community Arts Program.

Against all odds, including poverty, disease, and institutionalized violence, he never stopped making art,” the press release said. “His paintings explore imagery of Black legacy, with a distinctive style rooted in the intricacies of his drawings.”

Major is a critically acclaimed author, poet, and painter whose subjects range from communities gathering in bustling streets to pensive, powerful women, donning myriads of patterns and colors. As for Snipes, he is a talented ceramist and painter who has exhibited nationally and internationally. In a variety of media, he crafts narratives intended to confront discrimination through the adoption of a sophisticated, illustrative approach.

Watkins Is the activist responsible for the stunning mural of Martin Luther King in Waco, Texas. He is a Bay Area resident and self-taught artist whose compositions often portray the African American diaspora in the Bay Area during World War II, and whose scenes commemorate Black compassion.

“Paintings by the four showcase the importance of contemporaneous visual arts, music, prose and poetry, and the experiences of participating in American culture as Black artists,” the press release continued.

“Four For The Figure” will be open from Feb. 28 to April 5. The opening reception will be held on March 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. and will feature live music and free refreshments.

For more information, visit https://www.natsoulas.com/.

• • •

The Woodland Opera House is set to present a new musical filled with Disney magic and music.

Based on the popular Disney Channel original movies, “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical” mainly follows the teenage children of infamous Disney villains Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil. Imprisoned on the Isle of Lost, home of the villains, the teens have never ventured off the island…until now.

Throughout the play they must make a difficult choice: should they follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good?

“It is a brand-new musical, jam packed with comedy, adventure, Disney characters and hit songs from the films!” a press release from the Woodland Opera House said.

This is a family-friendly production suitable for all ages, however parents of younger viewers should be aware that some scenes include fantasy violence (sword fighting/moments of peril) and themes of good vs. evil.

“Disney’s Descendants: The Musical” is set to run from March 1 to 17 on Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Reserved seating is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors (62 years and older) and $10 for children (17 years and under). Balcony tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for children. Flex pass specials and group rates are available.

To purchase tickets, call (530) 666-9617, visit the box office or go online to https://woodlandoperahouse.org/.

Center Stage is a column exploring the arts in and around Yolo County.

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Business People: St. Paul principal Abdisalam Adam wins group’s Lighthouse Award

OF NOTE

This is a photo of Abdisalam Adam
Abdisalam Adam

The Minnesota School Board Directors of Color and Indigenous announced the winners of its annual Lighthouse and Xiong Awards: 2023 Superintendent Lighthouse: Theresa Battle, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District; 2023 School Board Lighthouse: Abdisalam Adam, Fridley School Board and principal of the East African Elementary Magnet School in St. Paul, and 2023 Xiong Award: Rose Chu, Roseville Area School Board.

ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS

Minneapolis ad agency Yamamoto, a Stagwell company, announced Michael Stelmaszek as chief creative officer. Stelmaszek previously was partner and chief creative officer at Detroit-based LUDWIG+; his credits include “The Middle,” a 2021 Jeep Super Bowl ad featuring Bruce Springsteen.

AUCTIONEERING

The Minnesota State Auctioneers Association announced that Dylan Kallemeyn of Fairmont was crowned its 2024 Champion Auctioneer from a field of 13 auctioneers from Minnesota and surrounding states; he will represent Minnesota at this year’s International Auctioneer Championship in Pittsburgh on July 26; Reserve Champion was Jared Sutton of Flandreau, S.D.; Wyatt Erdmann of Barnesville, Minn., was awarded as the Rookie Champion Auctioneer.

EDUCATION

Hopewell Music Cooperative North, a Minneapolis nonprofit music school, announced Alfred Sanders as executive director. A classically trained vocalist and songwriter, Sanders previously was the director of operations of a local Black arts organization in Minneapolis.

FOOD

Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn., announced the upcoming retirement of Pat Schwab, vice president of Retail Sales – East and the promotion of Darren Carter, vice president of sales strategy, to succeed him in that role. … QualiTech, a Chaska-based maker of ingredients for prepared food products for humans and animals, announced that Rick Pedersen, formerly president of Ornua Ingredients North America, has joined QualiTech as chief executive officer.

GOVERNMENT

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, a federally recognized sovereign Dakota tribal government located southwest of the Twin Cities metro, announced it has elected Cole Miller as chairman, Natasha Coursolle, vice-chairwoman and Ashley Cornforth, secretary/treasurer. Miller has served as the tribe’s vice-chairman since 2020. Coursolle and Cornforth were elected to serve their first terms on the Business Council. Outgoing Chairman Keith Anderson and Secretary/Treasurer Rebecca Crooks-Stratton did not seek re-election.

HONORS

St. Croix Economic Development Corp. announced its business of the year awards: Emerging Business of the Year, Barbell Coffee, River Falls; Small Business of the Year: Aves Studio, Troy; Business of the Year: Ciranda, Hudson, and Directors Award: William (Bill) Rubin, EDC.

LAW

Fredrikson, Minneapolis, announced that environmental firm attorney Molly Leisen has been appointed to the Women’s Environmental Network of Minnesota’s board of directors. … Maslon, Minneapolis, announced the reelection of Susan Link and David Suchar to two-year terms on its board of directors; Keiko Sugisaka continues in her role as board and executive committee chair; board members Brian Klein and Julian Zebot are in the second year of their two-year terms.

MANUFACTURING

MDI (Minnesota Diversified Industries), a Minneapolis nonprofit maker of plastic container products for business, and offering manufacturing job opportunities for people with disabilities, announced its expansion into a new space at 2335 Hwy. 36 West in Roseville.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

DiaMedica Therapeutics, a Minnetonka-based biopharmaceutical company, announced the appointment of Dr. Lorianne Masuoka as chief medical officer.  Masuoka is a board-certified neurologist who has held similar executive roles at other companies.

RETAIL

Revelyst, an Anoka-based owner of brands of sporting and outdoor lifestyle products, announced the appointment of Joyce Butler as chief human resources officer. Revelyst is the outdoor products division of Vista Outdoor and in the process of separating into a standalone public company. Portfolio brands include Foresight Sports, Bushnell, Fox, Bell, Giro, CamelBak and Simms Fishing.

SERVICES

Mill City Laser, a Minneapolis hair removal studio and spa, announced its move to 322 E Hennepin Ave.

EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

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