07/29/2023
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National Visionary Leadership Project
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NVLP records, preserves and shares the histories of extraordinary African American elders, passing on
(8)
04/26/2017
My latest OpEd for The Baltimore Sun --very challenging for me to write, very hard for me to read, and even harder for me to reconcile my lingering feelings of frustration and anger about the experience.
--On watching my son discover his Blackness: "My son was six years old the first time he realized that he was black."
--Reflecting on the and
Originally published in The Baltimore Sun April 26, 2017 My son was six years old the first time that he realized that he was black. He was in the
02/10/2017
The NVLP Civil Rights Movement section on the continues to grow. Attached is Part Two of the "Nevertheless They Persisted: Black Women &The Fire Within Them" (Lesson Plan) series.
Karsonya Wise Whitehead Examining the Legacies of Ella Jo Baker, Septima Poinsette Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Irene Height, & Coretta Scott King Grade: Middle/High School Overview: Upon …
02/10/2017
The NVLP Civil Rights Movement section on the continues to grow as lesson plans and essays are added on a regular basis. In honor of some of our visionaries (Dorothy I. Height and Coretta Scott King) - here is Part One of the "Nevertheless They Persisted: Black Women & The Fire Within Them" (Essay)
Karsonya Wise Whitehead Examining the Legacies of Ella Jo Baker, Septima Poinsette Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Irene Height, & Coretta Scott King “Too long have we been silent under…
02/08/2017
Two-time Grammy Award winning gospel and soul music recording artist Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, aunt of Dionne Warwick shares her story of music, mentoring and motherhood. Check out the video clips of her oral history from the NVLP Archive -http://www.visionaryproject.org/houstoncissy/
Stories and first hand accounts of American historical events as told by legendary African American leaders, artists, and visionaries such as B.B. King, Oliver Hill, Eartha Kitt, Ossie Davis, Percy Sutton and more.
02/08/2017
The Civil Rights Movement section on the continues to grow as we work to add nvlp resources to it! Recently added "From Brown (v. Board) to Black (Power): Examining the Roots of the Civil Rights Movement! https://kayewisewhitehead.com/2017/02/07/from-brown-v-board-to-black-power-examining-the-roots-of-the-civil-rights-movement/
Karsonya Wise Whitehead Historiography Three hundred and twelve years before the beginning of the modern civil rights era, which is generally accepted as the years between 1954 and the early 1…
02/03/2017
Odetta, an American singer, actress, civil and human rights activist and folk music legend shares here story, “I was Always headed towards music.” Her music has been called the “soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement.” See more of her oral history http://www.visionaryproject.org/gordonodetta/
Stories and first hand accounts of American historical events as told by legendary African American leaders, artists, and visionaries such as B.B. King, Oliver Hill, Eartha Kitt, Ossie Davis, Percy Sutton and more.
02/02/2017
Percy Ellis Sutton was a Renaissance man recognized as a prominent business and political leader. He was civil-rights activist, lawyer, Freedom Rider, Tuskegee Airman and legal representative for Malcolm X. Listen to his inspirational story at http://www.visionaryproject.org/suttonpercy/
Stories and first hand accounts of American historical events as told by legendary African American leaders, artists, and visionaries such as B.B. King, Oliver Hill, Eartha Kitt, Ossie Davis, Percy Sutton and more.
02/02/2017
As we continue to build out our Civil Rights Movement section on the , lesson plans from the National Visionary Leadership Project will be uploaded daily.
Karsonya Wise Whitehead & Fayetta Martin Grade: Middle/High School Overview: In order to fully understand this lesson, students should have mastered the indicators covering the impact of…
02/02/2017
As we continue to build out the - we are now uploading National Visionary Leadership Project lesson plans to our Civil Rights Movement Section.
Karsonya Wise Whitehead Intended Audience: 3rd – 5th grades Overview: In order to fully understand this lesson, students should have a broad understanding of the Civil Rights Movement and som…
02/01/2017
Dr. Dorothy I. Height was a Civil Rights Activist, President Emeritus of the National Council of Negro Women. Today she will be honored with the 40th U.S. Postage Stamp in The Black Heritage Series on the campus of Howard University.
Stories and first hand accounts of American historical events as told by legendary African American leaders, artists, and visionaries such as B.B. King, Oliver Hill, Eartha Kitt, Ossie Davis, Percy Sutton and more.
01/05/2017
Katherine Johnson - A brilliant, legendary, genius, barrier breaker, outspoken, gifted, African-American woman. Check out her oral history as captured by NVLP – see the movie "Hidden Figures" - fantastic.
Stories and first hand accounts of American historical events as told by legendary African American leaders, artists, and visionaries such as B.B. King, Oliver Hill, Eartha Kitt, Ossie Davis, Percy Sutton and more.
08/01/2015
The Black Quilted Narratives (BQN) 2015 Summer Teachers' Institute designed by NVLP to train teacher scholars on inclusion, social justice & racial healing using culturally responsive teaching & NVLP Civil Rights lesson plans and Visionary videos
06/10/2015
06/10/2015
05/16/2015
The King of the Blues passed away this week. World renowned blues guitarist B.B. King, one of the last of the Mississippi Delta Bluesmen, passed away on May 14, 2015. His reign lasted more than six decades and he was a major influence to many musicians. Here's a clip from the National Visionary Leadership Project's 2005 oral history interview in which Mr. King talks about the evolution of his playing style. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkkHpsemNvI&index=6&list=PLCwE4GdJdVRIg4vxCmpKuZBMWkCcojeQs For more from Mr. King's interview, please visit http://www.visionaryproject.org/kingbb/.
02/27/2015
On Oct. 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd paved the way for future generations when he became the first African American to play in the National Basketball Association. The Hall of Fame basketball player passed away yesterday at the age of 86. In tribute to his accomplishments on and off the court, here’s a clip from the National Visionary Leadership Project’s 2005 interview in which Mr. Lloyd talks about what it meant for him to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r1mNb9eLHM&list=PLCwE4GdJdVRJjjWpxIzrw6dvNiQzxOU-o&index=2 For more, please visit http://www.visionaryproject.org/lloydearl/
02/27/2015
World renowned jazz flugelhornist and trumpeter Clark Terry passed away last week. Here’s a clip from his 2005 oral history interview for the National Visionary Leadership Project in which he talks about how he got his nick name “Mumbles.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW_k3wUBc9U
For more, please visit http://www.visionaryproject.org/terryclark/.
02/13/2015
On February 14, 1977, NVLP Visionary Clifford Alexander, Jr. became the First African American Secretary of the Army. Here’s a clip from his 2006 interview with NVLP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8id6aT2ILu8&list=PLCwE4GdJdVRL_GBi2SZxHNQMLQvm6_ULs For more, please visit Mr. Alexander’s page on the NVLP website at http://www.visionaryproject.org/alexanderclifford/.
01/26/2015
"It's a great day for baseball. Let's play two!'' He played in 13 All-Star games, was voted the National League's Most Valuable Player twice, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, and fans voted him the greatest Cub player of all time. Ernie Banks was an amazing athlete who stayed positive despite the challenges that came with being a pioneering black baseball player. Here’s a clip from NVLP's 2004 interview with "Mr. Cub."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzDExFwPNw8&list=PLCwE4GdJdVRKskGy78uYX36-a9IOiI69C Read more about Mr. Banks on his NVLP web page at http://www.visionaryproject.org/banksernie/.
Born January 31, 1931 in Dallas, Texas, Baseball Player, http://www.visionaryproject.org/banksernie
06/13/2014
Here's a photo of Ms. Ruby Dee with NVLP college fellows taken in 2006 after an amazing round table discussion in which Ms. Dee talked about how she chose her acting roles while staying true to herself.
06/13/2014
Beloved actress, civil rights leader, and writer, Ruby Dee passed away on June 12, 2014. She was 91. Ms. Dee was an icon who performed her roles with intelligence and integrity. The award-winning star, and her late husband Ossie Davis, were influential in the struggle for African American equality and civil rights. In this clip from our 2002 interview, Mr. Davis and Ms. Dee talk about how they balanced career and family. View Ms. Dee’s biography and more clips at http://www.visionaryproject.org/deeruby/.
05/28/2014
The illustrious and talented Dr. Maya Angelou went on to glory to May 27, 2014. A renowned poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil rights activist, producer and director, Dr. Angelou was one of the great voices of contemporary literature and a Renaissance woman. NVLP's mission is to develop the next generation of leaders by recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of extraordinary African-American elders—Visionaries—who have transcended barriers, shaped American history, and influenced the world through the rich African-American tradition of social change. View clips from our 2002 oral history interview with Dr. Angelou at http://www.visionaryproject.org/angeloumaya/.
09/04/2013
Visionaries in the News: NVLP Visionary Mamie “Peanut” Johnson (on left) joined director Penny Marshall (far right) for Q & A after a screening of “A League of their Own” hosted by Women in Film and Video (WIFV) last week. (Helen "Gig" Smith, former AAGPBL player in middle.) “That was a beautiful movie. But when I played baseball, it was really different,” said Johnson. “That’s because you played with all men,” said Marshall. In 1953, Johnson became the first female pitcher to play in the all-male Negro Leagues. Click here to see a clip from NVLP’s interview with Mrs. Johnson where she talks about her dreams of playing baseball. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yg_oeboVrI
08/28/2013
NVLP is proud to share a link from the Library of Congress. "Inside the March on Washington: Our Support Really Ran Deep” is a blog post by Guha Shankar, folklife specialist in the American Folklife Center and the Library’s Project Director of the Civil Rights History Project. Video clips from NVLP's historic archive are included in this collection. View the story and clips at http://blogs.loc.gov/loc/
The Library of Congress Blog
08/21/2013
08/21/2013
On August 28, 1963 more than 250,000 people participated in the “Great March on Washington” – the largest non-violent demonstration for civil rights that America had ever witnessed. NVLP celebrates this milestone in American history with recollections by civil rights leader and NVLP Visionary Rev. Joseph Lowery. View more at http://www.visionaryproject.org.
05/29/2012
Chuck Brown, pioneering musician and creator of Go-Go, will have a public viewing today. Here's a clip from the NVLP archives of Mr. Chuck Brown talking about his hit song Bustin' Loose.
The legendary "Godfather of Go-Go" speaks about his Go-Go hit Bustin' Loose in this tenth and final excerpt from the NVLP Oral History Archive. To learn more...
05/25/2012
Wesley A. Brown, the first black Naval Academy graduate, died this week at 85.
04/11/2012
NVLP remembers artist and sculptor Elizabeth Catlett (19-15-2012) http://www.visionaryproject.org
10/12/2011
Tribute to Derrick Bell, civil rights lawyer and pioneering professor Harvard Law School.
10/05/2011
Historic civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth, who survived two attempts on his life, passed away today.
02/15/2011
Two NVLP Visionaries to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Obama spent nearly every day for two years blasting his son on the campaign trail. But Obama has long praised former President George H.W. Bush, particularly for his foreign policy decisions, and on Tuesday he presented the 41st president with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
04/20/2010
NVLP remembers Dorothy I. Height (March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010)
Presidents from Bill Clinton to Ronald Reagan have sought her advice. Arts and entertainment icons from Bill Cosby to Maya Angelou call her friend; and four million African-American women have looked to Dorothy Height for decades as their unwavering voice in the corridors of power.
02/03/2010
Watch our Vision to Visionaries: Women Empowered video
02/02/2010
NVLP Black History Month clips featured on 49 online news outlets throughout Black History Month
An estimated 3,000 people braved frigid temperatures Monday morning to attend the International Civil Rights Center and Museum's grand opening exactly 50 years after the sit-in at the Elm St. Woolworth's, in Greensboro, N.C., which now houses the museum.
01/29/2010
Tuskegee Airman Lee Archer dies at 90
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David Clyde Driskell was an artist, art historian and curator who was pivotal in bringing recognition to African-American art and its importance in the broader story of art in the United States and beyond. He is credited with helping to establish African American art as a field of study.
Born near Atlanta in 1931 and raised in western North Carolina, Driskell got a reputation for being smart because of his talent for drawing and copying pictures. He attended Howard University in Washington DC where he initially studied history before a significant encounter in his first drawing class. James Porter, the acclaimed African-American art historian and a teacher at Howard, observed Driskell’s drawing and told him, “You don’t belong over there; you belong here.” Porter became a mentor to Driskell.
Driskell earned a BFA in art and minor in art history at Howard in 1955, and an MFA from The Catholic University of America in 1962. He joined the faculty at Howard until 1966, when he moved to Nashville, Tennessee and spent 10 years at Fisk University. During his time at Fisk University, Driskell curated a number of shows highlighting black artists. He was a rigorous scholar and due to his careful cataloging of African American works he began creating the archive and context for research into black art.
He was approached in 1974 by the LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art to propose an exhibition surveying African American artists, encouraged by the Black Arts Council of the Los Angeles County Museum. In 1976, Driskell mounted "Two Centuries of Black American Art: 1750-1950," the highest-profile exhibition of its kind at a major U.S. museum. It became the most-visited exhibit of any show in LACMA's history, and traveled to the Dallas Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta and the Brooklyn Museum.
Driskell recounts his approach to the exhibit, "I said to the committee, 'I don't think we should concentrate only on painting and sculpture. We need to bring in the crafts and other areas: the history of architecture,—because little or nothing has been done to make that part and parcel of the whole of seeing the visual arts by people of African ancestry.'"
In 1976 Driskell moved to the University of Maryland, College Park, where he remained professor until his retirement in 1998. In 1995 he was named Distinguished University Professor of Art. In 2001, he was honored with the naming of the The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora, which presents exhibitions on African American art and holds the Driskell archive.
Driskell authored seven books, curated over 35 exhibitions, acquired an extensive art collection, and had a seven-decade career as an artist and educator. He was known for using different mediums and styles in his studio practice. And his art addressed a variety of subjects and themes, from the injustice of apartheid South Africa and racial segregation in the United States, to American jazz, to the traditional genres of landscape, interior, and still life painting.
Driskell died in 2020 at the age of 88 from complications of the coronavirus. His impact on the art world and history is profound. He had said, "My interest is to bring in more young people to grow the field, with an emphasis on art but buttressed by other cultural components as well — literature, drama, music — so more people are looking at African-American art history.”
Read more on our blog at https://www.arrowmont.org/black-history-month-artist-spotlight-david-driskell/.
Driskell is recognized in a documentary currently on HBO: Black Art: In the Absence of Light, and The High Museum is exhibiting a retrospective of his work through May 9, 2021: "David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History."
Video credit: National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP), the premier resource for oral history interviews with African American elders who shaped the 20th century. "David Driskell: The Importance of Documenting African American Art," March 17, 2010
Born near Atlanta in 1931 and raised in western North Carolina, Driskell got a reputation for being smart because of his talent for drawing and copying pictures. He attended Howard University in Washington DC where he initially studied history before a significant encounter in his first drawing class. James Porter, the acclaimed African-American art historian and a teacher at Howard, observed Driskell’s drawing and told him, “You don’t belong over there; you belong here.” Porter became a mentor to Driskell.
Driskell earned a BFA in art and minor in art history at Howard in 1955, and an MFA from The Catholic University of America in 1962. He joined the faculty at Howard until 1966, when he moved to Nashville, Tennessee and spent 10 years at Fisk University. During his time at Fisk University, Driskell curated a number of shows highlighting black artists. He was a rigorous scholar and due to his careful cataloging of African American works he began creating the archive and context for research into black art.
He was approached in 1974 by the LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art to propose an exhibition surveying African American artists, encouraged by the Black Arts Council of the Los Angeles County Museum. In 1976, Driskell mounted "Two Centuries of Black American Art: 1750-1950," the highest-profile exhibition of its kind at a major U.S. museum. It became the most-visited exhibit of any show in LACMA's history, and traveled to the Dallas Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta and the Brooklyn Museum.
Driskell recounts his approach to the exhibit, "I said to the committee, 'I don't think we should concentrate only on painting and sculpture. We need to bring in the crafts and other areas: the history of architecture,—because little or nothing has been done to make that part and parcel of the whole of seeing the visual arts by people of African ancestry.'"
In 1976 Driskell moved to the University of Maryland, College Park, where he remained professor until his retirement in 1998. In 1995 he was named Distinguished University Professor of Art. In 2001, he was honored with the naming of the The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora, which presents exhibitions on African American art and holds the Driskell archive.
Driskell authored seven books, curated over 35 exhibitions, acquired an extensive art collection, and had a seven-decade career as an artist and educator. He was known for using different mediums and styles in his studio practice. And his art addressed a variety of subjects and themes, from the injustice of apartheid South Africa and racial segregation in the United States, to American jazz, to the traditional genres of landscape, interior, and still life painting.
Driskell died in 2020 at the age of 88 from complications of the coronavirus. His impact on the art world and history is profound. He had said, "My interest is to bring in more young people to grow the field, with an emphasis on art but buttressed by other cultural components as well — literature, drama, music — so more people are looking at African-American art history.”
Read more on our blog at https://www.arrowmont.org/black-history-month-artist-spotlight-david-driskell/.
Driskell is recognized in a documentary currently on HBO: Black Art: In the Absence of Light, and The High Museum is exhibiting a retrospective of his work through May 9, 2021: "David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History."
Video credit: National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP), the premier resource for oral history interviews with African American elders who shaped the 20th century. "David Driskell: The Importance of Documenting African American Art," March 17, 2010
Wonderful to be here where African American giants share their dreams of the world.
I am happy to see the history and legacy of our people shared across the United States. Our history is absent from history books.
VAULT: Gordon Parks Goes to Washington in 1942 (2001) | ⭐️ 📺 on DailyPlinth.com ⭐️ | For the next video in our series Great Art You Can’t See Right Now Because of the Chuckleheads In Washington, we're sharing with you another clip from the National Visionary Leadership Project ’s remarkable 2001 interview with legendary photographer Gordon Parks. 'Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940–1950' is now at the National Gallery of Art, through February 18, 2019, but you can’t see it owing to the government shutdown.
In this remarkable short clip, Parks recounts (with not a small amount of irony added right now) his first visit to Washington DC in 1942. As an assignment, Roy Stryker of the FSA asks him to go (without his camera) to a department store and buy a coat, then to buy lunch – and is refused service in his attempts at both activities.
In this remarkable short clip, Parks recounts (with not a small amount of irony added right now) his first visit to Washington DC in 1942. As an assignment, Roy Stryker of the FSA asks him to go (without his camera) to a department store and buy a coat, then to buy lunch – and is refused service in his attempts at both activities.
Glad to learn of this organization and their work.
Hello. Is NVLP still going on? I was a part while I was in college (2005/2006) and would like to bring this to my community.
'Veteran of stage, screen and television for more than 40 years, Robert Guillaume endeared himself to millions across America with his humorous, frequently satirical, but always uniquely memorable, character portrayal.' -- National Visionary Leadership Project
'Acclaimed for her abstract sculptures, prints, and paintings, Elizabeth Catlett was one of the most prominent artists of the twentieth century. Her expansive collection of work reflects her commitment to the preservation of African American cultural traditions and the depiction of the lives of everyday, working-class people. The celebration of strong black women and mothers is also a consistent theme throughout her art, evident in her sculptures such as “Homage to My Young Black Sisters” (1968) and various mother-child pairings.' -- National Visionary Leadership Project
'Faith Ringgold, painter, writer, speaker, mixed media sculptor and performance artist lives and works in Englewood, New Jersey. Ms Ringgold is professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego where she taught art from 1987 until 2002. Professor Ringgold is the recipient of more than 75 awards including 22 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degrees." -- National Visionary Leadership Project
http://www.visionaryproject.org/chaseleah Sidenote: Leah Chase was born in Madisonville as opposed to New Orleans.
Mid-America Science Museum is honored to be partnering with the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences (CPNAS), Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, AETN, Garland County Historical Society, and the National Visionary Leadership Project to bring you Creative Mind an exhibit honoring African-American scientists and visionaries on display throughout at Mid-America Science Museum.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of groundbreaking Civil Rights Movement activist C.C. Bryant (January 15, 1917 – December 9, 2007). Learn about his life on the SNCC Digital Gateway Project link below and from the National Visionary Leadership Project interview here: http://www.visionaryproject.org/bryantcc/ Mississippi NAACP
It speaks for itself.
PLEASE PLEASE(WORDS FROM JAMES BROWN) DON'T LET US BLACK OR WHITE FORGET SHIRLEY CHISHOLM!!, SHE WAS THE FIRST WOMEN TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST WOMEN OF COLOR!! PLEASE READ AND SHARE HER BOOK, UNBROUGHT AND UNBOSSED, EVERY COLOR WILL LOVE IT! USE IT TO WAKE UP THE COMMON SENSES! MUCH LOVE MAMA GETBETTER.
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