Art Ignites Change

Thanks to an enthusiastic groundswell of support, Arlington, Texas is looking forward to a 2022 Juneteenth commemoration that’s poised to be the best one ever!

Best, as in it’s all about collaboration.

From its vantage point on the Arlington Juneteenth Jubilee planning committee, the Arlington Museum of Art believes the genuinely collaborative spirit is the group’s greatest accomplishment. 

Perhaps equally compelling is how three AMA art exhibitions helped start it all.

AMA presents Harlem Renaissance and William H. Johnson: An American Modern

When the AMA opened Harlem Renaissance in 2013, the exhibition was widely touted in the media as one of the largest collections of African-American art ever shown in North Texas. It featured works by groundbreaking artists like Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Aaron Douglas, and Richmond Barthé. The AMA also partnered with the Smithsonian to present William H. Johnson: An American Modern, an accompanying exhibition of 20 iconic paintings by William H. Johnson.

To see so many of these works exhibited together was incredible. It’s hard to overstate how visionary these African-American artists were, and how much influence their work continues to have on art in America today.

Recognizing Excellence: The 2013 Juneteenth Awards

Because the two exhibitions took place during the summer, the AMA saw an opportunity to commemorate Juneteenth.

Juneteenth (also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, and others) marks the moment when emancipation finally reached African-Americans who lived in the deep south. Juneteenth’s commemoration is on the anniversary date of June 19, 1865 when the Union army proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in Texas, the last state of the Confederacy with institutional slavery.

With no major Juneteenth events taking place in the city at that time, the AMA team reached out to several local African-American leaders. They helped the museum envision a special evening to celebrate excellence and community service, which was held on June 21, 2013 to honor six outstanding African-Americans in Arlington:

• Gerald Alley, for a lifetime of demonstrating the importance of community service

• Lisa Thompson, for community service and dedication to making Arlington the best place to live, work and raise a family

• Sr. Pastor NL Robinson, for championing the intrinsic value of every individual and standing against indifference and injustice

• Pastor Dwight McKissic, for his work to make our community a place where fairness and justice are valued

• Elzie Odom, for his demonstrated visionary leadership

• Michael Glaspie, for his leadership and commitment to advancing the quality of life

Of that experience, Chris Hightower said: “It never surprises us when art moves people, but the host of friends we made that summer really moved us. What we hoped would happen did happen: the art of William H. Johnson and the artists featured in Harlem Renaissance spoke to people of all races, backgrounds, and ethnicities.”

“Something else also happened, although we didn’t know it at the time,” said Chris. “We had planted the seed of Juneteenth celebrations to come.”

Reflecting Arlington’s Diverse Community

After Harlem Renaissance and William H. Johnson closed, the AMA started looking for another opportunity to present African-American art and artists in a way that would be powerful, modern, and engaging.

The process for selecting major art exhibitions is complicated enough to merit its own blog post. For now, suffice it to say that all kinds of limiting criteria have to be factored in, including the availability of the art, cost, installation requirements, etc.   

What is unlimited, however, is the AMA’s desire to present creative and engaging exhibitions, particularly those that speak broadly to our times and reflect Arlington’s diverse community.

Driven by this commitment, the AMA began to develop a relationship with the Rubell Museum in Miami FL, one of the biggest private contemporary art collections in North America. Their like-mindedness led to their first collaboration in 2019, an exhibition of Keith Haring: Against all Odds. The exhibition drew visitors from around the globe.

Two years later, the AMA again partnered with the Rubell to fulfill their dream of an exhibition featuring some of the greatest contemporary African-American artists.

AMA presents 30 Americans

When the AMA opened 30 Americans in May 2021, The Dallas Morning News praised the exhibition. “30 Americans at the Arlington Museum of Art features some of the most important artistic voices of our time…tackling unsettling but necessary subjects.”

Unsettling, but critically important.

Think about what was happening in the U.S. in Summer 2021. The torment of COVID had been going on for over a year, and the civil outcry over the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police continued to burn.

30 Americans came at precisely the right time. Just as William H. Johnson and the Harlem Renaissance artists were visionary in the 1920-50s, the thirty artists of 30 Americans–including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, and Kehinde Wiley–are thought leaders in American art today. Through a wide variety of mediums, the artists explore issues of race, social difference, sexuality, gender, and historical identity in contemporary culture.

Once again, visitors came from all over the world to be awe-struck by the stirring African-American art in the galleries of the Arlington Museum of Art.

Juneteenth for All

As the AMA sought to create programming inspired by 30 Americans, the team immediately thought of its 2013 Juneteenth celebration. What, they wondered, would be the 2021 version?

To guide them, the museum formed a 30 Americans host committee chaired by Tonya Veasey, CEO of OCG+ and, at that time, President of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Additionally, AMA once again reached out to many African-American community leaders who guided them to Lisa Thompson (yes, the same Lisa Thompson who received the AMA’s service award in 2013). The museum also enlisted James Hawthorne, Executive Director of the Arlington Film Society and long-time friend and collaborator on the Frame4Frame Festival.

As co-chairs, Lisa, James and Chris reached out to AMA neighbor Create Arlington and together, the Arlington Juneteenth Block Party and Jubilee was born.

On June 19, 2021, the Block Party included a greeting by Arlington Mayor Williams, a city proclamation read by Dr. Barbara Odom Wesley, a brief history of Juneteenth by Dr. Pamela Hill, plus live music, poetry readings, dancing, step shows, voter registration, food, and more. An estimated 2,500 people attended the Block Party, a celebration that was enhanced even further by the designation of Juneteenth as a national holiday just two days before.

This wildly successful 2021 Juneteenth event made it clear that the seed planted in 2013 was ready to bloom.

Art Inspires Change: History in the Making

Through its broader commitment to DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion and access), today the Arlington Museum of Art is helping ensure that an annual Juneteenth commemoration in Arlington will continue as a legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, William H. Johnson and 30 Americans exhibitions.

Efforts resumed in January 2022, when the City of Arlington, UT Arlington, and the Arlington Public Library began working with the Arlington MLK Celebration Committee, Inc. to reschedule MLK events that had been postposed due to rising COVID numbers.

Lisa and James, who serve on the MLK Celebration Committee, were a part of the discussions to combine the rescheduled events with a city-wide Juneteenth commemoration. They reached out to Chris, who offered to host committee meetings at the museum.

Next, by leveraging its reputation as a convener, the Arlington Museum of Art proactively engaged Viridian DFW, Levitt Pavilion, the Arlington chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, Downtown Arlington, and Create Arlington in the Juneteenth conversations.

“The AMA pulled groups together,” said Chris, “to ensure that all of these amazing partners could work under a cohesive Juneteenth umbrella.”

“This collaborative and enthusiastic committee is awesome, and the members represent our great community from all walks of life,” said Lisa. “Everyone is so committed to providing opportunities for sharing all the rich cultures and experiences which make Arlington a great place to live, learn and play.”

Because of this extraordinary cross-section of community partners, the committee is confidently promoting the 2022 Arlington Juneteenth Jubilee as the second annual.

“An annual celebration or Jubilee is important and will bring our community closer through a better understanding of the ideals of freedom and equity for ALL,” Lisa said.

To help ensure this momentum, the Arlington Juneteenth Jubilee committee is seeking a 501c3 designation.

Arlington Juneteenth Jubilee: June 17-19, 2022
from MyArlingtonTX, City of Arlington

The second annual Arlington Juneteenth Jubilee will host a variety of events designed to feed the mind, body and spirit.

The three-day event includes activities previously planned for this year’s Arlington Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, which was postponed from January because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the highlights from the Arlington Juneteenth Jubilee will be the premiere of the first episode of the “Echoes from The Hill” docuseries. Other activities will include live music and poetry readings, dancing, shopping, food trucks, an ecumenical service and volunteer opportunities throughout the community. Most of the activities will be held in Downtown Arlington and are free to the public.