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The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey -- Where Art and History Intersect

October 15, 2010 - May 1, 2011

Museum: American History Museum

Sponsor: African American History and Culture Museum

Location: African American History and Culture Gallery, 2nd Floor, East Wing (American History Museum)

Over 100 artifacts spanning some 400 years dating from the early 1600s illustrate the hardships and triumphs of the African American experience. On view are books, sculptures, paintings, manuscripts, and vintage photographs -- including works by such major African American artists as Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Artis Lane, Jacob Lawrence, and Henry O. Tanner. In addition, the exhibition honors the lives of such famous African Americans as Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr, as well as those whose history is not as well known. The richness of the African American experience is reflected through the following
four themes:

• Stories of Slavery and Freedom offers an unflinching, firsthand look at the country's brutal past from the perspectives of African Americans, Union soldiers, and slave owners.
• Freedom Struggles reveals the African American community's efforts to advance through military stories, political milestones, and works of art.
• Remembering the Faces of a People illustrates the many ways African Americans have portrayed themselves and their community in visual art and photography.
• Remembering and Connecting with Africa celebrates how mmmAfrican Americans have journeyed back to Africa to re-connect with their ancestral homeland and distant relatives.

5-minute video introducing the Kinseys and their son Khalil runs continuously

Free youth guide

This exhibition is organized by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.