Friday, June 10, 2016

"Where Black is Brown" (MAAA, Los Angeles)

Eds., Wisdom Quarterly; The Museum of African American Art, Los Angeles (facebook)
Africans and Aborigines traveled all over the planet, to the Americas (fijiblog.tuitai.com)
Yanga, Veracruz, Mexico (Humber/MAAA)
"Where Black is Brown: The African Diaspora in Mexico" opens June 2016 and will be on display until September 18, 2016. 

The Museum of African American Art (MAAA) opening featured a drumming procession of African and Aztec dancers and musicians, a dramatic performance, and a talk and tour by the exhibit's creator and curator Prof. Toni-Mokjaetji Humber, California State University, Pomona.

The innovative, multimedia "Where Black is Brown" exhibit includes photographs, artifacts, and installations that inspire dialogue about the African presence in Mexico.
 
The Aztec Empire that gave rise to Mexico was based on the previous Olmec Empire, which seems to have been of African origin, but this is "forbidden archeology" (ACSA).
  
In addition to the visuals, Dr. Humber offers educational programs and activities for the run of the exhibit. African roots in Mexican heritage, ancient and modern, are invisible, explains Dr. Humber. This has had consequences in the ideological consciousness of what it means to be "Mexican."

"This research will present a face of Mexico that has been hidden, denied, and disparaged, yet one that is vital to Mexican history and culture," continues Humber.
 
The exhibit is designed to further the understanding of African influences and contributions in the Americas and to foster greater understanding among African American, Chicano/Latino, and Indigenous communities about their historical connections that produced the beautiful and dynamic peoples of the Americas. More

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