"America I AM Across America" : Mobile exhibition review

November 16, 4:09 PMBaltimore Contemporary Art ExaminerLaura Kuah

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This past Wednesday, November 12, I had the opportunity to stop by the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture to view Tavis Smiley's "America I AM Across America", a precursor to "America I AM: The African American Imprint", which will debut on January 15, 2009 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA. Throughout the day, a diverse group of Baltimoreans walked through and were inspired by the contents of the exhibition preview. For those who read my article about this event earlier this week, but did not get a chance to see the preview, please enjoy the photos below:

  Yours truly in front of the "America I AM Across America" exhibition truck.

 Construction workers stop by on their lunch break to check out the preview.

This "mini museum on wheels" was set up as a unique museum exhibition, using artifacts, documents, photography and oral history documentation videos to share the story of the African Americans. In addition to the use of contemporary typography and graphics to communicate to a twenty-first century audience, "America I AM Across America" also featured a recording studio where one could talk about what the African American imprint means, which could be featured as a part of the actual exhibition. The surprise gift for sharing your views in front of the camera? An Exxon Mobil gift card, which is never a bad thing to have if gas prices go up again in the not-so-distant future. 

View of the recording studio, and Tavis Smiley's introductory video message.

"America I AM : The African American Imprint" will feature a much larger showcase of these historical documents, photographs and artifacts. It will also feature a section about African Americans in the arts, and honor those who have brought rich musical/visual folk art traditions to America. Since the recent election of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States, the response to this forthcoming exhibition has been overwhelmingly positive. Over the next four years, Americans from every socio-political, cultural and economic background will have the opportunity to answer the following question posed by W.E.B. Du Bois (1903): 

"Would America have been America without her Negro people?"