For adults.
Tue, Feb 18 | 7 – 8 pm
HCLS Elkridge Branch
Register at bit.ly/Author_Murray
Victoria Christopher Murray discusses her historical fiction novel Harlem Rhapsody, which transports readers into glittering 1920’s Harlem. Readers follow Jessie Redmon Fauset, the heartbeat of its literary revolution, as she discovers and nurtures icons like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Nella Larsen, and Zora Neale Hurston.

In the 1920s, Harlem flourished as a place of Black pride. As the novel follows Fauset’s career, the reader is privy to both the brilliant creativity happening at this time while simultaneously understanding the experience of a Black woman who had to combat incredible sexism and racism to succeed.
With almost three million books in print, NAACP Image Award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray is one of the country’s top Black contemporary writers. As the co-author with Marie Benedict of the breakout hits and New York Times bestsellers The Personal Librarian and The First Ladies, she traced the lives of Belle de Costa Greene, J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, and the Black civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune.

MORE ABOUT THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE
by Emily B.
Every February we celebrate Black History Month, but did you know that January is International Creativity Month? This intersection of Black history and creativity makes this time of year perfect to celebrate Black artists. One of the most important Black artists of the 20th century is Jacob Lawrence, best known for chronicling contemporary and historical African American life in the United States.
Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1917, Lawrence was a self-proclaimed, “child of the great migration.” His parents were two of six million Black Americans who fled the racist, Jim Crow south in search of freedom and opportunities in Northern cities.

Lawrence’s family relocated to Harlem when he was 13. Though young, he was able to experience firsthand the Harlem Renaissance, a period of great cultural revival for African Americans that lasted from the 1910s through the mid-1930s. Lawrence described his art style as “dynamic cubism.” His work stood out from more traditional cubist works through his use of angular forms and bold colors, which represented the strong and resilient spirit of the African American community. His use of vibrant colors continued in his later works, like 1977’s The Swearing In.*

His most notable work, The Migration Series, encompasses sixty panel paintings depicting The Great Migration. Influenced by his parents’ plight and the art scene in Harlem, Lawrence began the ambitious
project at only 23 years old. He worked simultaneously on each panel to ensure the colors and style remained harmonious throughout the entire project. Thanks to funding from the Works Project Administration, a New Deal government agency, Lawrence was able to fully realize his artistic vision.
Soon after completing the Migration Series panels, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and The Phillips Gallery in Washington, DC purchased the panels, making Lawrence the first Black artist to have his work purchased by MoMA. Today, the two museums continue their shared custody of The Migration Series.

To view each panel from The Migration Series and learn more about Jacob Lawrence’s life and his works, visit: lawrencemigration.phillipscollection.org or borrow Jacob Lawrence: The Migration Series by Leah Dickerman. Young readers may enjoy Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, a Young Artist in Harlem by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts.

*A framed art print of The Swearing In is available to borrow from the Art Education Collection at Central and Glenwood Branches.

National Gallery of Art: Black Art & Artists in the Collection
For adults.
Wed, Feb 12 | 3 – 4 pm
Online
Find more information at bit.ly/NGA-BlackArt
Witness the enduring mark Black artists have made on American art — from 19th century painters Joshua Johnson and Robert Seldon Duncanson to modern and contemporary artists Faith Ringgold, Alma Thomas, and more. Presented by The National Gallery of Art. This class is a part of the Museum@TheLibrary series.