BALTIMORE — With the recent murder of a promising Bowie State University African American male student over the weekend potentially being classified as a hate crime; the climate of harsh race relations and harmful stereotypes of African American males is being placed front and center right here in Maryland.
In the face of so much negative news about African American males, The Reginald F. Lewis Museum seeks to continue it’s mission of shining light on the full story of the African American experience here in Maryland.
The Lewis exhibit, Sons, focuses on the often, false negative perceptions of African American males and their true stories of success. Each participant is offered up as what you may perceive them to be and then the next image reveals what they really are: thugs are revealed to be college students and dangerous individuals are shown to be doctors and most importantly dads to a new generation of African American males staring down these same stereotypes and blowing them up with success, hard work, integrity and spirituality.
With so much of the narrative on African American males focusing on the negative The Reginald F. Lewis seeks through the Sons, exhibit and through the many programs and events like the upcoming “Story Time and Arts Hour: Celebrating Black Dads” and the book release of Baltimore’s own Devin Allen “A Beautiful Ghetto” to change the story.
The Reginald Lewis is located at 830 E. Pratt Street in Baltimore. For more information about the “Sons: Seeing the Modern African American Male,” exhibit, call: 443-263-1800 or visit: www.lewismuseum.org.