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Celebrating 60 Years At Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum Of African American History

Celebrating 60 Years At Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum Of African American History

Forbes4 days ago

Elonte Davis, 'If You can Make it.'
Charles H. Wright (1918–2002).
M.D.
Medical Doctor. No small achievement for a Black man born and raised in Alabama during the darkest depths of Jim Crow segregation. Every instrument of society at that time was used to prevent African American achievement.
Still, Wright overcame.
He established an OB-GYN practice in Detroit in the mid-1950s, his second stint in the city.
From individual excellence, Wright moved on to hero stuff. He worked to integrate Detroit's hospitals and put his life at risk as an emergency physician during Civil Rights Movement marches in Alabama and Louisiana.
Throughout, he took numerous trips to Africa. He studied African culture and history, and African American culture and history. He started collecting items related to both. In 1965, he opened a small museum in his home to display the collection–the International Afro-American Museum. The museum quickly outgrew his residence and expanded to a trailer.
From those humble beginnings evolved the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
'He had always been fascinated with the culture and wanted to do something to teach–particularly young people–about their history and about how significant and powerful African nations are and were,' museum president Neil Barclay told Forbes.com.
"Ensuring that generations, especially young African Americans, are made aware of and take pride in the history of their forebears and their remarkable struggle for freedom," Wright explained.
Bear in mind, he was not a trained historian or museum professional. He was a medical doctor. African and African American culture and history were hobbies.
No matter.
'It strikes me how important it is for us to determine, or think about, how we as individuals can improve the planet and the communities we live in,' Barclay said. 'Here was an individual, an obstetrician, and he gets this idea of wanting to share the artifacts he has so that kids will understand, appreciate more about their culture, and it ends up being one of the first and largest African American museums in the country. We think that we don't make a difference, that we can't do anything to make a change in the world we live in, and here's an individual who has totally transformed an entire part of the cultural sector.'
DETROIT - OCTOBER 31: Dignitaries pay the first respects to the late Rosa Parks at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on October 31, 2005 in Detroit, Michigan. Parks, the woman who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama city bus in 1955, is credited for sparking the American civil rights movement. Parks will lie in honor at the museum until 5am November 2, and her funeral will take place at 11am at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit. (Photo by Susan Tusa-Pool/Getty Images)
Two memorials symbolize the Wright Museum's significance to Detroit over its 60 years in existence, Detroit's contributions to America, and African Americans' contributions to American history. Rosa Parks lied in state at the museum in 2005. She became an icon protesting segregated buses in Montgomery, but moved to Detroit to live out the remainder of her days following the famous boycott. Aretha Franklin was similarly honored at The Wright following her passing in 2018 and decades defining the Motown sound.
Parks and the Queen of Soul are both buried in Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery.
'(The Wright has) been significant as a gathering place, as a point of pride, as a place where our community has gathered and has really taught the rest of our friends, our colleagues, our allies, the significance of the African American journey in American history,' Barclay explained. 'We always talk about how African American history is American history. It's a slice of it. It's intrinsic to an understanding of American history, and indeed, we get people, literally all races and ages from around the world, coming to try to understand what it was about African Americans that so influence what America became, and what we now consider to be a democratic ideal.'
What America became and the democratic ideal are under attack today. Much as The Wright focuses on the nation's past, its most important work lives in the now.
In the wake of the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle crucial Civil Rights protections and federal diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the instruments of society are again being used to derail African American achievement. Black history, voting rights, policing reform, and environmental protections attempting to bring equality to African Americans have all been under daily assault by the administration.
Tragically, as America lurches backwards from enlightenment, uplifting the narratives of Black culture and history have never been more urgent.
'We just continue to tell the truth about the stories that we know particularly from a lived experience that African Americans have had,' Barclay said. 'I don't think that that will go away. Our history is one of resilience, of having to stand up for the truth that we understand and know, and that's what we're called to do in this moment.'
As Wright was called to do in the 1950s and 1960s.
'Whether folks want to call it DEI or not, these are values that we have had for centuries. It has nothing to do with the current rhetoric,' Barclay continues. 'We continue to espouse those values. We continue to put forward that we believe in diverse cultures. We believe in including as many people as possible in the work that we do, and we believe that all people should be treated fairly and equitably. We've believed that for 400 years, that's a story of the fight of African Americans in this country.'
Hard to imagine those ideals are controversial, but here we are. Welcome to America in 2025.
Dominick Lemonious, 'Pray for my City.'
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History celebrates its 60th anniversary this summer with a special exhibition, 'Luminosity: A Detroit Arts Gathering,' presenting the work of more than 60 present-day Detroit artists, long-departed masters, and selections from the museum's archives all celebrating the rich landscape of the city's Black arts scene. For these artists, creativity isn't just a practice, it's a legacy passed down through generations of Detroiters.
Nearly 100 artworks–paintings, sculptures, photography, woodcuts, prints–honor The Wright's six-decade presence and impact on Black artistry in the city.
'Arcing across six decades, the artworks are shared in a collective light that reveals (Detroit's) extraordinary urban experiences and distinctive sorrows,' Ann Arbor, MI based exhibition guest curator, Vera Ingrid Grant, founding director of Harvard University's Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African and African American Art, told Forbes.com. 'Shown in abundance, together, they offer shared histories, personal memories, and intense dreams and anxieties of our past, present, and future. This congregation of artworks presents an astonishing vista of storytelling marked by startling tensions and at times a powerful stillness. It's a paradoxical story of vulnerability and resilience that still continues.'
Grant has split the presentation into halves: 'DayLight' and 'NightLight.'
'Some of the arrays depicted scenes from an ordinary day, social life, kinship and home—or moving about and working in the metropolis of Detroit. These tableaus seemed to belong in 'DayLight'–a gallery that resounds with a boisterous and eclectic energy,' she explained. 'Alternately, some scenes felt imbued with features of stark and alternate visions–sober histories, strategies of healing, and validations of faith. They called for a more solemn setting and a more austere and traditional installation we managed in 'NightLight.'
Artworks engage in universal themes of love, social critique, stories of families, and neighborhoods, but also subjects specific to Detroit.
'For these 60 and more artists of Detroit, you see in their vision the impact of migrations, the endurance of the city's imposing industrial structures–in various states of resilience, decay, and a promise of a beckoning renaissance–but you also feel the differing personal and community mappings and movements in the city of who goes where and when, and where in the city there may be infrastructure and where there may be none,' Grant explained.
Throughout the exhibition and the museum, Detroit's position at the forefront of a national and international dialogue regarding the profound influence of African American history and culture are revealed.
'Luminosity' will remain on view through March 31, 2026.
Mario Moore, 'These Are Not Yams But They Are Damn Good,' 2025. Oil on Linen 51 1/2 x 42 in 130.8 x 106.7 cm (MM018)
The exodus of manufacturing jobs from America left Detroit on the mat for decades. Those who stuck out the hard times have finally gotten the city back on its feet. More than that, Detroit today belongs in the conversation for most exciting city in America.
Black artists and the city's cultural institutions have been at the forefront of that transformation and continue leading it.
Through August 10, 2025, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit presents 'Code Switch: Distributing Blackness, Reprogramming Internet Art.' Spanning multiple galleries, this interdisciplinary presentation highlights Black contemporary artists' impact on new media and cultivation of technology in arts and culture.
'Code Switch' brings together artists from across the globe to showcase the varying expressions of technology and the internet's impact on contemporary art, honoring Black cultural legacies in the field of new media and time-based practices.
The presentation expands as a contemporary group exhibition celebrating Detroit as an integral meeting place where Black people have always been, and continue to be, pioneers in new media art and technologies. The city's deep history with sound—where techno was popularized in America—offers a framework for exploring the interconnectedness of Black people, bodies, and machines.
Through July 30, 2025, Library Street Collective brings LaKela Brown and Mario Moore together in a joint exhibition exploring economic and community power through the lens of their shared Detroit heritage. Their work reflects a deep appreciation for the city's transformation while raising questions about who benefits from its growth. Through distinct yet complementary practices, Brown and Moore investigate the ways Black communities have historically cultivated wealth, resilience, and culture beyond mere financial capital.
At the heart of the exhibition is their collaborative bronze coin sculpture, a striking 60-inch relief. Each artist sculpted one side–Moore's featuring a profile portrait of Brown, and Brown's adorned with a bouquet of collard greens–underscoring the significance of plant life in the formation of Black identity. The coin serves as both an artifact and a provocation, prompting viewers to consider who holds value in today's society.
Alongside the collaborative sculpture will be individual works by both artists.
Moore's paintings draw from 17th century Dutch devotional art, reframing them to celebrate Black culture–with garlands of plants significant to the Black diaspora such as watermelon, hibiscus, and periwinkle surrounding subjects like a Black urban farmer couple. Brown's wall-based sculptural relief works are rooted in ethnobotany and Black aesthetics, drawing inspiration from plants and foods that are at the forefront of her childhood memories.
Another Detroit sculptor, Austen Brantley, continues a hot streak of major public commissions with a new statue of Joe Louis commissioned by the City of Detroit set to on the Joe Louis Greenway in August of 2025.
Detroit's rising African American artists push boldly into the future on the shoulders of giants like Wright. Giants like Njia Kai and George Shirley. That duo will be celebrated at the GhostLight Arts Initiative's inaugural GhostLight Gala, taking place on Sunday, June 29, 2025, at the Garden Theatre. The event will celebrate five seasons of the Obsidian Theatre Festival, launch a bold new chapter for GhostLight's mission-driven work in the performing arts, and recognize two legendary figures in Detroit's arts community.
Kai has been a leader in the Detroit arts and culture scene for decades, programming events that have uplifted Black cultural traditions. Affectionately known as 'Mama Njia' to many, she has mentored and trained countless young artists and producers across Detroit.
Shirley was the first African American tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera, a professor at The University of Michigan, and a National Medal of Arts recipient.
Proceeds from the Gala will help support GhostLight programming including the Obsidian Theatre Festival, Young Artist Workshop, Detroit Artist Fellowship Program, Neighborhood Engagement Programming, and Encore Michigan.

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Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans
Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans

CNN

timean hour ago

  • CNN

Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans

For nearly a decade, the community in Orlando has been working to find a way to memorialize the 49 people who were killed when a gunman opened fire on Latin night at a popular gay nightclub, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history at the time. Now, as the city marks the nine-year anniversary of the tragedy at Pulse on June 12, city leaders and local activists say they have renewed hope that construction of a permanent memorial site will begin next June. City engineers are currently reviewing proposals from design firms with plans to award a contract this summer. The conceptual site design – created by an 18-member advisory board of survivors, loved ones of victims and community leaders – includes a memorial and reflection space, a survivors' tribute wall, a private gathering space for personal reflection, a walkway with columns honoring the 49 victims on rainbow glass panels, a healing garden and a visitor's center. 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Highly Opinionated: Detroit's Most Exquisite Tartares
Highly Opinionated: Detroit's Most Exquisite Tartares

Eater

timean hour ago

  • Eater

Highly Opinionated: Detroit's Most Exquisite Tartares

It's no secret that Detroit has a love affair with beef — from the fresh, regenerative ground meat smash burgers made at Melway Burgers to the classic chili that slathers the coney dogs at Duly's. But as a recent transplant to the city, I was surprised to learn just how much raw meat is consumed here. You can't go too far in Detroit without encountering an exciting riff on steak tartare or a classic kibbeh nayeh (raw lamb or beef mixed with bulgar wheat). In fact, when I describe Detroit's restaurant scene to friends across the country, it's not the coney dog or Detroit-style pizza that I suggest is this city's signature dish — it's steak tartare. Raw meat links prestigious new American restaurants like Selden Standard, Grey Ghost, and Mabel Gray. Tartare graces the menus at steakhouses both old and new, whether at the historic London Chop House or at the stylish, modern Wilder's in Birmingham. Tartare is a common thread among restaurants with a focus on ethical sourcing like Ladder 4 and Marrow. Raw meat is also ingrained in Detroit's vast Arab American community, where at Lebanese restaurants the aforementioned kibbeh nayeh is a fixture. To put it simply, Detroit is tartare city, whether people recognize it as such or not. I've been a resident of Detroit for more than a year now, and I have sampled many different types of tartare in that time. It's one of those dishes where if I see it on the menu, I have to try it (if for no other reason than to further this growing hypothesis that Detroit is tartare central). There are an infinite number of ways to enjoy the dish, but here are a few that I keep coming back to. I grew up in a small, Western Pennsylvania town where Levantine cuisine is prominent. In fact, there's a neon sign hanging at my favorite six pack bar and to-go restaurant that reads, 'Lamb & Smelts.' Summer cookouts weren't just hot dogs and hamburgers; they were also skewered legs of lamb, toum, and pita bread. Sunday dinners in my mostly Italian family meant pasta, but my Greek grandmother also made sure that stuffed grape leaves and fried kibbeh were on the table. From a culinary standpoint, moving to Detroit felt like home, but it felt more exciting , too. The vastness of Levantine cuisine is on full display here, and Leila is a restaurant that I've absolutely adored since moving to the city. It's one of those special places a traveler can point to and go, 'There's not many restaurants like this in the country.' Leila's kibbeh nayeh is prepared relatively traditionally — a mix of finely minced raw lamb, bulgar wheat, and spices spread flat on a small plate, dragged with a fork, and topped with chopped onions and mint. 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The multi-time James Beard semifinalist has gotten national recognition over the years for his dedication to live-fire cooking and Argentine-influenced creations, but he doesn't nearly get enough credit for how he wields acid. Everything at Barda stings with lovely acidity. The scallop ceviche features sour green apples and a deeply flavorful leche de tigre. Barda's wreath-shaped zucchini ceviche in the summer is delicate, but bright and mouth-smacking, and his chimichurri lacerates through the char of thickly cut, wood-fired steaks. There's a lovely dichotomy to the food at Barda — it is all at once carnal and virtuous. Take the steak tartare. Here, the high-quality beef is mixed and marbled with capers, cilantro stems, whole-grain mustard, and finely minced jalapeño. A pile of sharp horseradish is grated on top for good measure. The dish comes served classically with slabs of grilled sourdough toast brushed with tallow, and a thick log of roasted bone marrow for scooping out gelatinous tissue. Javier's use of tangy, piquant ingredients tame the meatiness of his tartare, one that uses three different kinds of beef — ground, tallow, and marrow. Even as I think about it right now, I can taste the sharpness of this spectacular dish. It's one of the city's best. The first time I visited Selden Standard was mere days after I moved to the city in April of 2024. Alone, at the bar, I had a seasonal orecchiette pasta dish with anchovy, lemon, rapini, and stracciatella that just totally blew me away. I also enjoyed a tartare served with endive, a wonderful deviation from the standard toast points. Indeed, the vessels for Selden's tartare change often, but I had recently encountered a great one served with tangy, homemade sourdough. 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