WAMC Commentary February 23, 2009
Mary Schmidt Campbell
Chair, New York State Council on the Arts
Dean, Tisch School of the Arts
I confess. Thirty years ago, I used to dread the month of February. Not because of the weather—snow and cold can be invigorating; rather, February brought with it a deluge of invitations to participate in Black History Month celebrations. Invitations would come from all over the country as cultural institutions tried to cram into one month—and the shortest month of the year at that—as many obligatory Black History concerts, exhibitions, round table discussions, key note addresses, gatherings of elected officials and black cultural icons they could lay their hands on. And yes, I participated. At the end of the month, however, we all let out a collective sigh —whew, that’s over; now, back to business as usual.
Perhaps I am too harsh. But to those of us at the receiving end of the invitations, the description of the surge and its subsequent dissipation, after Black History month was over, is not far off.
Blessedly, those days of only once a year attention are dissipating. In their place, cultural institutions bring us not only black history and culture but other underrepresented cultures, year round. Many of these institutions have cultivated distinguished track records and, now, reside at the heart of the American cultural landscape. I thought about that during this holiday season as I sat through the finale performance of Alvin Ailey’s fiftieth anniversary celebration. Looking around the audience, I noted an intergenerational and culturally pluralistic audience of passionate Ailey aficionados. Again, as I sat one Sunday afternoon through an open house at Dance Theater of Harlem, I marveled at the ferocious energy and boundless talent of a new generation of young people from a multitude of cultural backgrounds.
In New York State, a growing number of institutions that represent ethnic groups underrepresented in their disciplines, have had a galvanizing impact on all of American culture. To name just a few: Garth Fagan Dance in Rochester New York. Fagan is the Tony award winning, path breaking choreographer of Broadway’s Lion King. The African American Cultural Center is a multi-disciplinary vibrant gathering place that has served the Buffalo community for over 50 years. Syracuse University’s Community Folk Art Center, a hub of artistic excellence in upstate New York for over 35 years, is yet another example. The list could go on. All of these organizations have a commitment to learning, and teaching, to young people and new artists and to excellence. In their respective communities they are touchstones of continuity and stability.
In addition to institutions, there are Black cultural leaders who would appear on anyone’s list of leading cultural figures in the arts. In the state of New York, a partial list would include: everyone from a college president like Dr. Shirley Jackson, the visionary who conceived of the Empire Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), a forward looking, technologically advanced performing arts center in central New York dedicated to research in science and the arts, to the innovative award winning leader of Syracuse Stage, Timothy Bond, to Brooklyn’s Laurie Cumbo whose leadership at MoCADA has created a vital presence for visual arts that focus on critical social, historical and political issues in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, to Pat Cruz whose transformation of the gate house uptown has given Harlem another major cultural institution.
With so much institutional and individual wealth on display in New York State alone, do we still even need a once a year celebration of Black History and Culture?
As triumphant as we have the right to be, the truth is that too much of our young talent still remains untapped and too many of our communities remain isolated from opportunity. With our economic crisis deepening, the work of these institutions and individuals alike will be necessary to keep open the doors of opportunity and possibility. If we call attention to that once a year, I am fine with that.
