Miami museum opens a new exhibit that examines a century of swimwear and its connection to Florida
MIAMI (AP) — Just in time for bathing suit season, the HistoryMiami Museum is opening a new exhibit that examines the relationship between the evolution of swimwear and the growth of South Florida over the past century.
'Waves of Style: Swimwear Through the Decades' opened to the general public on Saturday and will run through Oct. 5. The exhibit showcases about 50 historic swimwear pieces from the museum's extensive collection of more than 2,000 textiles.
The immersive, dynamic experience allows visitors to explore the history and evolution of swimwear, from the heavy wool suits that were still required by law in many places during the early 20th century to modern swimsuits that leave little to the imagination.
HistoryMiami CEO and Executive Director Natalia Crujeiras said Miami is the perfect place for an exhibit like this because it has both shaped beach culture and been shaped by beach culture like no other city.
'From efforts for social change to a playground for fun and exploration to inspiring style around the world, beach has always been part of Miami,' Crujeiras said.
Visitors can learn about Jane Fisher, the wife of early Miami Beach developer Carl G. Fisher. Jane Fisher became a trendsetter in the 1910s when she ditched her traditional bathing suit, which included a long skirt, stockings and cap, for one of Miami Beach's earliest form-fitting swimsuits. The public was initially shocked, but the style quickly gained popularity. Her husband later used photos of 'Bathing Beauties' to promote Miami Beach around the country.
Women weren't the only ones expected to cover up in early 20th century. Topless swimwear for men didn't become common until the 1930s, when Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller bared his chest as Tarzan in 12 films between 1932 and 1948. Many of the movies were shot at least partially in Florida, and Weissmuller worked as a swim instructor at the Miami Biltmore Hotel before landing the iconic role.
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Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
The home of one of the largest catalogs of Black history turns 100 in New York
NEW YORK (AP) — It's one of the largest repositories of Black history in the country — and its most devoted supporters say not enough people know about it. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture hopes to change that Saturday, as it celebrates its centennial with a festival combining two of its marquee annual events. The Black Comic Book Festival and the Schomburg Literary Festival will run across a full day and will feature readings, panel discussions, workshops, children's story times, and cosplay, as well as a vendor marketplace. Saturday's celebration takes over 135th Street in Manhattan between Malcom X and Adam Clayton Powell boulevards. Founded in New York City during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, the Schomburg Center will spend the next year exhibiting signature objects curated from its massive catalog of Black literature, art, recordings and films. Artists, writers and community leaders have gone the center to be inspired, root their work in a deep understanding of the vastness of the African diaspora, and spread word of the global accomplishments of Black people. It's also the kind of place that, in an era of backlash against race-conscious education and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, exists as a free and accessible branch of the New York Public Library system. It's open to the public during regular business hours, but its acclaimed research division requires an appointment. 'The longevity the Schomburg has invested in preserving the traditions of the Black literary arts is worth celebrating, especially in how it sits in the canon of all the great writers that came beforehand,' said Mahogany Brown, an author and poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center, who will participate in Saturday's literary festival. For the centennial, the Schomburg's leaders have curated more than 100 items for an exhibition that tells the center's story through the objects, people, and the place — the historically Black neighborhood of Harlem — that shaped it. Those objects include a visitor register log from 1925-1940 featuring the signatures of Black literary icons and thought leaders, such as Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes; materials from the Fab 5 Freddy collection, documenting the earliest days of hip hop; and actor and director Ossie Davis's copy of the 'Purlie Victorious' stage play script. An audio guide to the exhibition has been narrated by actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton, the former host of the long-running TV show 'Reading Rainbow.' Whether they are new to the center or devoted supporters, visitors to the centennial exhibition will get a broader understanding of the Schomburg's history, the communities it has served, and the people who made it possible, said Joy Bivins, the Director of the Schomburg Center, who curated the centennial collection. 'Visitors will understand how the purposeful preservation of the cultural heritage of people of African descent has generated and fueled creativity across time and disciplines,' Bivins said. Novella Ford, associate director of public programs and exhibitions, said the Schomburg Center approaches its work through a Black lens, focusing on Black being and Black aliveness as it addresses current events, theories, or issues. 'We're constantly connecting the present to the past, always looking back to move forward, and vice versa,' Ford said. Still, many people outside the Schomburg community remain unaware of the center's existence — a concerning reality at a time when the Harlem neighborhood continues to gentrify around it and when the Trump administration is actively working to restrict the kind of race-conscious education and initiatives embedded in the center's mission. 'We amplify scholars of color,' Ford said. 'It's about reawakening. It gives us the tools and the voice to push back by affirming the beauty, complexity, and presence of Black identity.' Founder's donation seeds center's legacy The Schomburg Center has 11 million items in one of the oldest and largest collections of materials documenting the history and culture of people of African descent. That's a credit to founder Arturo Schomburg, an Afro-Latino historian born to a German father and African mother in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He was inspired to collect materials on Afro-Latin Americans and African American culture after a teacher told him that Black people lacked major figures and a noteworthy history. Schomburg moved to New York in 1891 and, during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in 1926, sold his collection of approximately 4,000 books and pamphlets to the New York Public Library. Selections from Schomburg's personal holdings, known as the seed library, are part of the centennial exhibition. Ernestine Rose, who was the head librarian at the 135th Street branch, and Catherine Latimer, the New York Public Library's first Black librarian, built on Schomburg's donation by documenting Black culture to reflect the neighborhoods around the library. Today, the library serves as a research archive of art, artifacts, manuscripts, rare books, photos, moving images, and recorded sound. Over the years, it has grown in size, from a reading room on the third floor to three buildings that include a small theater and an auditorium for public programs, performances and movie screenings. Tammi Lawson, who has been visiting the Schomburg Center for over 40 years, recently noticed the absence of Black women artists in the center's permanent collection. Now, as the curator of the arts and artifacts division, she is focused on acquiring works by Black women artists from around the world, adding to an already impressive catalog at the center. 'Preserving Black art and artifacts affirms our creativity and our cultural contributions to the world,' Lawson said. 'What makes the Schomburg Center's arts and artifacts division so unique and rare is that we started collecting 50 years before anyone else thought to do it. Therefore, we have the most comprehensive collection of Black art in a public institution.' Youth scholars seen as key to center's future For years, the Schomburg aimed to uplift New York's Black community through its Junior Scholars Program , a tuition-free program that awards dozens of youth from 6th through 12th grade. The scholars gain access to the center's repository and use it to create a multimedia showcase reflecting the richness, achievements, and struggles of today's Black experience. It's a lesser-known aspect of the Schomburg Center's legacy. That's in part because some in the Harlem community felt a divide between the institution and the neighborhood it purports to serve, said Damond Haynes, a former coordinator of interpretive programs at the center, who also worked with the Junior Scholars Program. But Harlem has changed since Haynes started working for the program about two decades ago. 'The Schomburg was like a castle,' Haynes said. 'It was like a church, you know what I mean? Only the members go in. You admire the building.' For those who are exposed to the center's collections, the impact on their sense of self is undeniable, Haynes said. Kids are learning about themselves like Black history scholars, and it's like many families are passing the torch in a right of passage, he said. 'A lot of the teens, the avenues that they pick during the program, media, dance, poetry, visual art, they end up going into those programs,' Haynes said. 'A lot the teens actually find their identity within the program.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
From ‘Housewives' overload to the ‘shadiest queens' alliance: The dish on ‘The Traitors' Season 4 lineup
Welcome to Reality Derby, Gold Derby's weekly deep dive into all things reality TV, hosted by senior editors Marcus James Dixon and Denton Davidson. Watch the video above. The cast of The Traitors Season 4 was unveiled on Friday, with a whopping 23 reality TV stars and notable figures about to compete for up to $250K. Among the roster are some of our favorite former gamers from Survivor and Big Brother, a pair of sassy Olympic figure skaters, and a whopping five women from The Real Housewives. More from GoldDerby 'The Americas' producers on NBC's ambitious docuseries, Earth's most varied landscapes, and 'absolute joy' working with Tom Hanks Inside the comedy pressure cooker: How 'SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night' exposed the madness behind the magic of 'Saturday Night Live' 'The Traitors' Season 4 casts a different Rob from 'Survivor,' a K-pop star, and Taylor Swift's potential future mother-in-law "I do feel like this is a little Real Housewives heavy," Davidson declares. "It's just not a show that I follow. And I understand the fan base is massive. So, the fact that they keep inviting more and more back, it clearly means that it's doing well for them. It's just not my wheelhouse. And they don't know how to play the game!" Says Dixon, "I really think that one of the Housewives are going to be a Traitor this year, because we did not get one last year in Season 3. In Season 2, we had Phaedra Parks, one of the best Traitors ever." The Housewives in this cycle are Dorinda Medley (returning from Season 2), Candiace Dillard Bassett, Caroline Stanbury, Lisa Rinna, and Porsha Williams. They both openly wonder if returning contestant Dorinda might be a Traitor this time around, since she was a Faithful last year. "If I was there, I would immediately target her again," laughs Davidson. "Poor Dorinda! Because they're going to think, 'Of course, she's coming back as a Traitor.'"for Churchill Downs When Davidson initially saw the cast list, he felt "meh," until he noticed Olympic figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir in the lineup. He explains, "These are two people I didn't expect to be on a reality TV show — not because they don't have the personality, but because it just wasn't on my radar. Tara Lipinski was an Olympic gold medalist, and Johnny Weir is a very eccentric male figure skater, and they are two of the shadiest queens that do the commentary for the Winter Olympics. They're like every bestie pairing you would see in West Hollywood ... and it's going to be hilarious if one of them is actually a Traitor." Survivor star Rob Cesternino being cast on The Traitors is a big "F you" to the long-running CBS reality TV show, Dixon says. "He was in the running for Survivor 50, and I guess at the last moment he didn't get the call. And so The Traitors swoops in two weeks later, and they're like, 'OK, we want you in the castle.'" In other words, Survivor's "loss" is The Traitors' "gain." Other competition gamers about to go for the gold in Scotland include Yamil "Yam Yam" Arocho from Survivor, Natalie Anderson (without her twin sister, Nadiya Anderson) from The Amazing Race and Survivor, and Ian Terry and Tiffany Mitchell from Big Brother. "It's been a long time since we've seen [Ian]," Davidson realizes. "It'll be interesting to see what he's like now at age 34. He was so young when he was on Big Brother a thousand years ago." Tiffany was "the creator of the Cookout" and "America's Favorite Houseguest" on Big Brother, so "people love her," remembers Dixon. "I loved that whole season of Big Brother 23. I think it's the best season they've ever done, so I can't wait to see her. She's got a little villainous side." Dixon wonders if Carolyn Wiger "had any sway" in getting her Survivor 44 buddy, Yam Yam, onto The Traitors, since she was so popular in the castle last year. Just like Rob, Carolyn was in the running for Survivor 50, but she was ultimately cut, possibly because of her time on the rival series. "Jeff Probst is very jealous and protective, and does not like it when his Survivors are on The Traitors," Davidson warns. They also discuss the hot topic of Donna Kelce, the mother of NFL bros Travis and Jason Kelce, and whether Travis' girlfriend, Taylor Swift, might be posting about The Traitors this year. "You know she's going to watch," Davidson smiles. "She probably already does. I mean, I'm sure Donna had an advisor and got some advice from from Taylor and her kids, or at least spoke to them about it, so it'll be interesting to see their take." Season 4 of The Traitors is expected to air in early 2026, as the first three seasons all began in January. The show has already been picked up for a fifth season. Peacock SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh admit they 'never had the audacity to realize' a show like 'Deli Boys' was possible Leslie Bibb breaks down her aha moments filming 'The White Lotus': 'Kate suddenly got jealous' 'Agatha All Along' star Ali Ahn: Getting Patti LuPone's approval while singing was 'like I had died and gone to heaven' Click here to read the full article.
Black America Web
4 hours ago
- Black America Web
Famous People Who Attended Tennessee State University
Jason Kempin HBCU Pride will always be one of the cornerstones here at Black America Web , and we get much joy in highlighting the contributions of historically Black colleges and universities in any way possible. This time around, we're putting a spotlight on the prestigious Tennessee State University as they celebrate over a century of being one of our culture's go-to institutions for a higher education. We join all Tigers, Lady Tigers, current students, alumni and alumnae alike in giving a huge milestone anniversary shoutout to Tennessee State University! RELATED: Famous People Who Attended Alabama A&M University What proves to be more impressive than TSU's immense century of culture are the extensive amount of famous faces who once walked those historic halls. The amount of college athletes who went on to become Olympic medalists, NBA icons and an almost unbelievable sum of NFL legends is astonishingly impressive to say the least. Oh, and then there's Oprah Winfrey — what else is there to say?! Having the Queen Of Media as an alumna clearly comes with its advantages, and the Class of 2023 got a lesson in that when Lady O spoke at their commencement ceremony. Lucky! Take a look below at an excerpt from her speech that really stood out to us, via Oprah Daily : 'I don't care how hard life after college gets—and it's gonna get hard—we need you to dream big! We need audacious thinkers. Use my example; I was one good TSU teacher—Mr. Cox—and one timely phone call away from a career that would absolutely change my life. That story's not just my own. What dream are you one or two steps away from? We also need generosity of spirit; we need high standards and open minds and untamed imagination. That's how you make a difference in the world. Using who you are and what you stand for to make changes big and small. And there will be times when making the next right decision will be scary. I'll tell you a secret: That's how I've gotten through every challenge without being overwhelmed. By asking what is the next right move. You don't have to know all the right moves—you just need to know the next one.' SEE ALSO Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
