Deadlines for Cycle I 2012 Grants Set

Grants Workshop Locations To Be Released Soon

Art Historian Perry Frank and
Muralist Byron Peck with Dir. of
Grants Mark Smith and Exec. Dir
Joy Ford Austin at the 2011 Cycle
II Grant Awards Ceremony.

Though the Cycle II awards ceremony just wrapped up last week, we are already looking forward to the first grant cycle of 2012! The Humanities Council offers major grant awards of up to $5000 to qualified 501(c)3 non-profit organizations which seek to provide high-quality humanities-based projects, programs, or events to the people of Washington, DC. Small grants of up to $1500 are also offered. 

The Humanities Council highly recommends that first time grantees attend a grants workshop to learn more about the proposal process, and the types of projects which have received funding in the past. More information about the upcoming workshop series will be available soon.

Important dates and deadlines for Cycle I include:

Grant Assistance Workshops

January 10, 2012

January 12, 2012

January 19, 2012

January 24, 2012

January 26, 2012

Times and locations are to be decided.

Preliminary Applications Due for Major Grants - February 10, 2012

Final Applications Due for Major and Small Grants - March 9, 2012

Cycle I 2012 Grants Awards Ceremony - April 25, 2012

For more information on grant opportunities from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC visit www.wdchumanities.org, email grants@wdchumanities.org, or call 202-387-8391.

Announcing the 2011 Cycle II Grant Recipients

Grant Awards Will Be Presented at a Ceremony this Evening at the Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage

Major Grants

• Washington's Mural's as Spectacle and Message - City Arts Inc.
• Advanced Photography Training for At-Risk DC Youth Critical Exposure
• The 2012 Environmental Film Festival in the Nations Capital
• Shakespeare Steps Out - Folger Shakespeare Library
• 2012 Children's Gallery of Black History - MOMIE's TLC
• One World Education Units: Single Parent Families & Language in America - One World Education
• The Africa Club with Sadiki - Sadiki Educational Safari, Inc.
• Documenting Your Story (Documentary Video Storytelling Seminar) - Stone Soup Films
• Thurgood Marshall Academy's Community Archives Program - Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School
• Washington Storytellers' Theatre DBA Renewal and Enhancement of SpeakeasyDC's podcast - Speakeasy DC
• Voices of Health - Whitman Walker Health
• Our City Film Festival - Yachad, Inc

Small Grants

• Civil War Reading Series - Georgetown Theatre Company
• The Finding Gabriela DC Youth Poetry Competition - The In Series, Inc.
• Southwest Heritage Project - Southwest Neighborhood Assembly
• 38th Annual Conference on DC Historical Studies - Friends of the Washingtoniana Division
• In Their Own Words – DCPS Students - Global Harmony Through Personal Excellence, Inc.
• "Brookland, not Brooklyn" Discussion Guide - Black Women Playwrights’ Group
•  The Mother Story Project - The Sanctuary Theatre

We look forward to seeing the enriching programs, events, and projects produced by these outstanding organizations!

Your Humanitini

What Do You Want to Discuss Over Drinks, DC?

For four weeks in a row, from the end of July to the beginning of August, panelists and after-work barhoppers weighed in on some of the District's most pressing current issues at a series of Humanitini events. The Humanitini was developed several years ago by the Humanities Council as an attempt to get DC's younger population mixing, engaging, and talking. Generally the program topics are on issues felt keenly by the target audience including: internet dating, social media, and gentrification; clearly the scope of what can be discussed over a drink is wide open. 

Amy Saidman of SpeakeasyDC moderates the recent Humanitini,
"Sex, Scandals, and Social Media."

The format, on the other hand, is pure humanities. The civic engagement style makes use of a moderator who encourages a panel of experts to share their experiences, but the true character of a Humanitini event is revealed as the audience discussion begins to heat up. Opinions often differ, but the relaxed atmosphere encourages respect and allows meaningful conversation with little animosity. 

The past four Humanitinis were held at Bar 7 on Mt. Vernon Square, and Tabaq Bistro along the bustling U Street corridor in NW. The topics included: Sex, Scandals, and Social Media; Coming Out and Speaking Out; White House or Black House? (an powerful discussion on gentrification and changing demographics); and The ABC's of DC: Americans, Blogging, and Culture.

 

Each Humanitini attracted an engaged audience, and it is likely that the topics will make appearances in future iterations of the program. In the meantime, however, we are trying to get some additional feedback from those who attended the events, and some impressions from others who might be interested in joining the fun in the future! 

If you have a great idea for a Humanitini topic, please let us know via one or more of our points of contact listed below. What are the big issues in DC right now? What are the trends? Have you noticed something new that you are dying to discuss with a diverse group? 

Respond by:

• Commenting on this post!
• Leaving a post on our Facebook Wall - http://www.facebook.com/HumanitiesCouncilofWashingtonDC
• Fire a Twitter Post @HumanitiesDC
• Email programs[at]wdchumanities[dot]org
• Give us a call at 202-387-8391

Cycle I Grantee Organizations Promise a Transformative Series of Documentaries, Forums, Screenings, And After-School Activities

Twenty One New Humanities Projects and Events

The first regular grant cycle of 2011 is underway as of Wednesday, May 11, after a brief, yet informative ceremony. Twenty-one organizations were funded this cycle, and 20 were in attendance at the historic Sumner School in Northwest DC. The grantee organizations were introduced by moderator and Humanities Council board chair Marianne Scott, and a representative from each group delivered a brief summary of their project.

Leading DC Humanities Organizations

Discuss their Upcoming Projects

The diverse humanities projects supported this cycle exemplify the Humanities Council's effort to reach a broad DC audience. The Studio Theatre and the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company each received grants to hold public discussions on the cultural themes explored in a collection of Irish plays, and the play, Clybourne Park respectively. Video/Action received a grant which will be used to fund filmmaker Cintia Cabib's documentary study of community gardening in Washington, and the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation's major grant award will support a documentary film on the history of African American basketball titled Supreme Courts. Other organizations that received funding include: the American Islamic Congress, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, DC Scores, the Double Nickels Theatre Company, Facing History and Ourselves, Ford's Theatre Society, the Latin American Youth Center, the Latino Economic Development Corporation, M.O.M.I.E.' S TLC, the National Hand Dance Association, People's Production House, the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, Friends of the Congo, the Military Road School Preservation Trust, Words, Beats, and Life Incorporated, and the 9/11 Unity Walk. The Textile Museum also received a grant, but was unable to attend the ceremony.

Footage from the ceremony is available on HCTV, the Humanities Council's Youtube Channel. We will be in touch with all the grantees as their projects develop. Let us know which humanities events or projects you are most looking forward to, and please post any feedback as you begin to check them off your Summer schedule.

Live to Read Selection to be Distributed Free at Local Libraries

Don't Miss the Chance to Pick Up a Copy

The first annual Live to Read is coming to a close, but don't let that stop you from picking up a copy of this year's selection, Ruined by Lynn Nottage, a Pulitzer Prize winning play about life in the war-ravaged  Democratic Republic of the Congo. The play, based on Nottage's own travels through the region, is an eye-opening and often brutal account of the atrocities that can occur when corruption and violence rule in place of law and reason. Despite the suffering of her characters and the weight of her subject, Nottage manages to weave humor and familiarity into the narrative, making for an engrossing read, and a stunning theatrical production. The memory of the story lingers long after leaving the theater or putting down the book.

Copies of the Dramatist Play Service version of the book will be available throughout the week (first come first served) at the Anacostia Neighborhood Library, the Dorothy I. Height/Benning Library, the MLK Memorial Library, the Southwest Neighborhood Library, and the Tenley-Friendship Library.

Live to Read is Washington, DC's city-wide celebration of literature. This year's selected work of literature is Ruined, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Lynn Nottage. The play is currently running at Arena Stage.

Live to Read Partners Stage Poetry Workshop

Read One Participant's Powerful Work

As part of the first annual Live to Read, the Humanities Council, Split This Rock Poetry, and Beltway Poetry Quarterly held a creative writing workshop called "Breaking the Silence." The program mirrored the themes of Lynn Nottage's Ruined, this year's Live to Read literature selection. The event received great feedback from the participants including the following note from Brenda Bunting. Thank you, Brenda, for allowing us to feature your work!

---

"I very much enjoyed the Breaking the Silence Workshop. It was invaluable to me as a poet/writer and sexual abuse survivor. Here is the poem I wrote from the workshop. I hope you will add it to the blog."

-Brenda Bunting

Wreaked
My clothes are neatly folded blood spattered
soaked with semen and dried by the sun
In daylight I walk darkly stiff sore afraid
To go to the hospital fearful of the police
Officer Vicious visited my home last night
Told me to be quiet so I will be silent until
I realize it was my fault only then I get to speak
I will sleep in the same bed I was raped in
I will smile at my children and continue to care
I will excel at the college do my homework
and look forward to graduation
I will not go to the Rape Crisis Center
I will not go to any physician or doctor
I will pretend this never happened until
I believe it never happened.


Live to Read is Washington, DC's city-wide celebration of literature. This year's selected work of literature is Ruined, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Lynn Nottage. The play is currently running at Arena Stage. Next week, the Humanities Council and the DC Public Library will distribute copies of the book at selected libraries. The Humanities Council encourages all Washingtonians to read and discuss the play.

Live to Read Selection Inspires Art and Poetry

Don't miss this exciting blend of literature and art!

After reading Ruined by Lynn Nottage, participants in the Miriam's Kitchen art therapy program created works reflecting the play's themes and imagery. The exhibition entitled, Courageous Vision, will be on display this evening at the Shaw Whole Foods on P Street, NW. The third and final exhibition of the art show will commence at the Georgetown Whole Foods on Thursday, April 28^th. Both events are completely free and do not require registration.

About Miriam's Kitchen

Miriam's Kitchen was founded in 1983 by a collaboration of The George Washington University Hillel Student Association, Western Presbyterian Church and United Church in response to an urgent need for services for the homeless in Washington, DC. Our mission is to provide individualized services that address the causes and consequences of homelessness in an atmosphere of dignity and respect, both directly and through facilitating connections in Washington, DC. We provide free, homemade meals and high-quality support services to more than 4,000 homeless men and women each year through our core programs: Meals, Case Management, Miriam's Studio, and Miriam's Cafe.

This series of programs is the Humanities Council's annual celebration of literature and city-wide read. All Washingtonians are encouraged to participate in the series of discussions, workshops, and live performances held by the HCWDC and its partners which focus on a single work of fiction. 

Blast from the Past: The Humanities Council's TV Programs

Humanities Profiled, Humanities Salon, and DC Humanities Return on HCTV

Miller Reads from Fathering Words at the Arts Club
of Washington, DC.

Not long ago, the Humanities Council produced several regular television series for the District's public access cable network, DCTV. The footage from those programs is now part of the DC Digital Museum collection and is making a comeback on HCTV, the Humanities Council's Youtube channel. The first of these programs to be uploaded was an episode of Humanities Salon featuring E. Ethelbert Miller at the Arts Club of Washington, DC. The program features Miller reading from his memoir, Fathering Words, and fielding interview questions from his friend and former wife Michelle Greene.

VHS, DVCAM, and SVHS cassettes in the DC Digital
Museum Collection.

The Humanities Council's longest running television program was Humanities Profiled. Guests of that series included notable DC humanities figures, past Humanities Council grantees, and major political decision-makers. HP episodes featuring grantees Nick Hollis and Beverly Lindsay-Johnson, and humanities luminaries Marcus Raskin and Andy Shallal are coming soon to HCTV. Hollis discussed the James Wormley recognition project which sought to recognize an often overlooked DC historic figure, and Lindsay-Johnson answered questions on her then-forthcoming documentary Teenarama.

Many of these old episodes were archived on media that has either, not stood the test of time, or is difficult to digitize. As a result, some of the videos have significant color bleed, blurriness, and other imperfections. The sound, however, is flawless in most, so we will go ahead and post what we have and continue working to recover the footage in its highest quality. Until then, stay tuned to HCTV, and comment on our new-old television shows on the channel, the blog, or both!

Black History Month Feature: Under the Radar - The New School of Afro American Thought

Documentary Film Examines a Prominent DC Afro-Centric Educational Institution

Since its founding, Black History Month has been about education. Its founder Carter G. Woodson wanted to improve the overall quality of history education in America by focusing on important narratives that had largely been overlooked due to racial discrimination. One of the projects from last year's DC Community Heritage Project grant cycle was a documentary film, called Under the Radar: the New School of Afro American Thought, on an often overlooked Washington, DC institution. The school was founded in 1966 by Don Freeman and poet Gaston Neal. From its original location at 2208 14th Street, NW (boarded building in above image), the New School offered black people of all ages and socioeconomic conditions the opportunity to learn about their own African heritage and culture. 

The documentary brings together some of the individuals that helped make the New School a successful and important institution in Washington, DC. The interviews with former students express the impact that exposure to African culture had on their adult lives. Don Freeman, the surviving founder, talks about the impact the school had on the community, and its influence on similar institutions across the country.

Black separatism and Afro-centric education are still contentious issues. Are they appropriate reactions to centuries of slavery, segregation, discrimination, and Euro-centric education? Is it possible to reconcile mainstream ideas about our shared past with those presented at the New School? Were the goals of the New School similar to those of Woodson's Negro History Week (the precursor to Black History Month); that a dedicated study of African origins gradually contribute to the accepted narrative? Leave a comment, and let us know what you think about the New School and its contribution to education in Washington, DC.

This highlight from the DC Digital Museum collection is part of the Humanities Council of Washington, DC's Black History Month series. Subscribe to the blog to get all the lastest updates!

Black History Month Reveals the Gaps in the Historical Narrative

Is History More Complete Since the Days of Dr. Carter G. Woodson?

Carter G. Woodson

February is Black History Month, and the history of its observance is central to Washington, DC with its tradition of African-American scholars and scholarship. In 1926, Carter G. Woodson launched Negro History Week with the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History). Woodson lived and worked in the District, and had incorporated the ASNLH there 11 years earlier. He believed that mainstream education functioned as propaganda lifting the history and culture of Europeans over that of others. In a letter to Thomas A. Barnes justifying the ASNLH creation of a home study department, Woodson wrote:

“The fact is that the so-called history teaching in our schools and colleges is downright propaganda, an effort to praise one race and to decry the other to justify social repression and exploitation. The world is still in darkness as to the actual progress of mankind. Each corner of the universe has tended to concern itself merely with the exploits of its own particular heroes. Students and teachers of our time, therefore, are the victims of this selfish propaganda.”

Carter G. Woodson House, Washington, DC
Courtesy: Historical Society of Washington, DC

Woodson was the first child of enslaved parents to receive a PhD. from Harvard University, but was barred from teaching at his alma mater because of his race. He spent his post graduate years teaching in public schools before joining the faculty at Howard University. He was familiar with the U.S. education system at all levels when he created Negro History Week, and was determined to return blacks to the American historical narrative. In 1972 the name and scope of the celebration was changed to Black History Month.

During the past two or three decades, many scholars, educators, and journalists have challenged the relevance and validity of the observance, charging it with tokenism, exploitation, and intellectual segregation. The most common critique is that by relegating African-American history to a single month, it gives us license to ignore it for the other eleven. Some have written that Black History Month is used as a mere marketing tool; businesses put out banners, display photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr., and expect that their contributions will be rewarded with improved public sentiment. This collective empathy is central to the final criticism – that Black History Month is an empty obligation that makes us feel good and assuages guilt, but lacks any substance (largely attributable to the effects of commercialization). 

These arguments are likely all valid in some capacity, but their authors' desire to spot broad social trends often renders the actual accomplishments of Black History Month invisible. Negative reviews of Woodson's creation regularly overlook his original intentions, fail to evaluate whether those intentions are actually being achieved, and almost never suggest alternatives. 

Black History Month does not encourage the inclusion of an alternate historical narrative. By setting some time apart each year to study that separate narrative exclusively, it shows us that the accepted version of American history is quite incomplete without it. Highlighting black history for a set period emphasizes its absence elsewhere, but Black History Month does not cause this absence, it cries out for a remedy. 

Since its founding, but especially since the beginning of its nation-wide observation, Black History Month has gradually begun to fill the gaping holes in American history observed by Woodson in the 1920s. Recently, the Humanities Council of Washington, DC has featured some of its materials related explicitly to African-American history on HCTV and the DC Digital Museum catalog, but they are just two or three out of hundreds that could have qualified. Thanks to Washingtonian, Carter G. Woodson, and his insistence that we pay special attention to Black History for a dedicated period out of each year, few HCWDC grantees have been able to produce projects that exclude it; we simply cannot tell a story without including revelations gained from Black History Months past. Granted, DC has a unique history; for many years it has had a majority black population, and was home to free blacks before the Civil War. The fact remains, however, that Woodson and the ASNLH saw the need for improved black history education based primarily on their observations in the nation's capital. 

In 2011, the HCWDC (and likely many other cultural institutions around the country) would be hard-pressed to relegate emphasis of African-American history to a single month, but in the interest of advancing Woodson's cause and contributing to a still woefully incomplete mainstream narrative of American history, beginning tomorrow, we will highlight select items from the DC Digital Museum. Don't be surprised though, if the series outgrows February!