African American Museum
3536 Grand Avenue
P.O. Box 150157, Dallas, TX 75315-0157
214-565-9026
www.aamdallas.org
The African American Museum in Dallas is devoted to the preservation and display of African American artistic, cultural, and historical materials. It has one of the largest African American folk art collections in the United States.
African Burial Ground Project
Office of Public Education and Interpretation
290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007
212-637-2039
www.africanburialground.gov
In 1991, the remains of more than 400 seventeenth-and eighteenth-century Africans and African Americans were discovered during while digging the foundation for the construction of a new federal building in downtown Manhattan. Digging further, archaelogists discovered a five-acre burial ground with an estimated 20,000 burials of Africans and African American slaves from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The African Burial Ground was designated a National Monument in February 2006.
Alliance for Truth and Racial Reconciliation (ATRR)
www.olemiss.edu/winterinstitute/atrr
under the umbrella of the
William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation
Dr. Susan M. Glisson, Director
The University of Mississippi
P.O. Box 1848, 102 Vardaman Hall, University, MS 38677
662-915-6734
glisson@olemiss.edu
www.olemiss.edu/winterinstitute
“The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation fosters reconciliation and civic renewal wherever people suffer as a result of racial discrimination or alienation, and promotes scholarly research, study and teaching on race and the impact of race and racism.” The Institute now functions as an umbrella organization, and supports the emergence of a new regional group, The Alliance for Truth and Racial Reconciliation formed in 2005, at a gathering of groups based in the Deep South who met to talk about helping communities confront issues of racial violence and reconciliation. Out of this grew the regional alliance, a network of organizations dedicated to similar ideals, who could serve local community needs throughout the South. A growing list of members of the Alliance are listed on the ATRR Web site within the Winter Institute site. The list includes the Philadelphia Coalition in Neshoba County, Mississippi (www.neshobajustice.com/); STAR, Southern Truth and Reconciliation in Atlanta, Georgia (www.southerntruth.org/); the Moore’s Ford Committee, Moore’s Ford, Georgia (www. mooresford.org/); and the Keepers of Love Project (www.thekeepersoflove.com).
American Anti-Slavery Group
198 Tremont St., #421, Boston, MA 02116
800-884-0719, 617/426-8161, 270-964-2716
www.iAbolish.com
While many believe that the slave trade ended some time ago, there are still over 27 million people held in bondage today. In addition to chattel and sex slaves throughout Africa, parts of Asia, and many other parts of the world, cases of human trafficking have been documented in affluent neighborhoods in the United States. Slavery isn’t history. Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery (Palgrave, 2006), edited by Jesse Sage and Liora Kasten, (introduction by Gloria Steinem), is a collection of firsthand accounts of slavery in the twenty-first century. All proceeds from the sales of this book go toward the programs of the American Anti-Slavery Group. Also see Not For Sale.
Ancestor Divination
Reda Rackley
www.ancestordivination.com
Reda Rackley, M.A., is a cultural mythologist, storyteller, and shamanic counselor. She lectures and facilitates women’s retreats bridging mythology, depth psychology, and spirituality. Reda was initiated into the indigenous medicine of the Dagara tribe in Burkina Faso, West Africa. She teaches ancient shamanic traditions through storytelling, ritual, and divination.
Bioneers
Old Lamy School House
6 Cerro Circle, Lamy, NM 87540
1-877-246-6337 (1-877-BIONEER)
info@bioneers.org
www.bioneers.org
Bioneers are “biological pioneers who are working with nature to heal nature and ourselves.” Founded in 1990, Bioneers promotes practical environmental solutions and innovative social strategies for restoring the earth and communities. They conduct programs in the conservation of biological and cultural diversity, traditional farming practices, environmental restoration, and sustainability. Bioneers sponsors a dynamic annual gathering in San Rafael, California, of scientific and social innovators who have demonstrated visionary and practical models for restoring the earth and communities.
Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association
P. O. Box 70, Covington, TN 38019
901-522-8880
www.bfaa.net
This group works to support black farmers and agriculture. They provide legal counsel and bring class action lawsuits for compensatory relief to African American farmers and those who were denied the right to make a living from agriculture, including losses incurred because of discriminatory practices within the U.S. government.
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming, by Paul Hawken (Viking, 2007)
www.blessedunrest.com and WISER: www.wiserearth.org
This book shows us humanity’s collective genius and the spontaneous movement that has arisen to reimagine our relationship to the environment and to one another. Growing out of this body, WISER is an interactive Web site that exists to support a new system of awareness, support, communication, and collaboration.
Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT)
509 Pecan Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
817-332-4441
www.brit.org
The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) is a global institute for the conservation and preservation of botanical heritage through education, research, scientific publications, and collections.
Caddo Lake Institute
44 East Avenue, Suite 101, Austin, TX 78701
512-469-6000
info@caddolake.us
www.caddolakeinstitute.us
The Caddo Lake Institute is a private operating foundation whose role is to act as an ecosystem-specific sponsor and technical support entity, underwriting local wetland science and conservation expertise and training, as well as cultural and ecological research and monitoring. Its mission is to protect and improve the ecological and cultural integrity of the Caddo Lake ecosystem.
The Caddo Nation
P.O. Box 487, Binger, OK 73009
405-656-2344
www.caddonation-nsn.gov
The ancestors of the Caddo Indians were agriculturalists whose distinctive way of life and material culture emerged by A.D. 900, as seen in archaeological sites in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. In 1542, de Soto’s expedition encountered thriving Caddo communities along the Brazos, Trinity, Neches, Sabine, Red, and Ouachita rivers. Twenty-first century Caddos have renewed their efforts to revitalize the economic, social, political, and religious institutions that preserve their heritage.
Center for the Arts, Religion and Education (CARE)
Graduate Theological Union
Pacific School of Religion
1798 Scenic Road, Berkeley, CA, 94709
800-999-0528
www.careartandreligion.us
CARE’s mission is to encourage and develop programs and scholarship that bring together the arts and religion. The Keepers of Love, the outgrowth of the work at Love Cemetery, is a project of CARE. CARE’s programs, faculty, and their course offerings emphasize the dynamic, transformative role of the arts in theological education.
Dallas Freedman’s Cemetery Memorial
Southwest corner of North Central Expressway and Lemmon Ave., Dallas, TX The Freedman’s Cemetery, which dates back to 1869, was a vital part of Freedman’s Town, a community of former slaves and their descendants. Desecrated from the early 1920s by various public projects, more than 1,600 gravesites were discovered in 1986 during the widening of Central Expressway. The African American community and the preservationists joined forces to stop the destruction and to create a powerful memorial, the Freedman’s Memorial Park. More than 1,000 burials were reinterred. The striking memorial marks the reconstitution of a sacred place and celebrates the contributions of African Americans to the city of Dallas.
Forum on Religion and Ecology
www.environment.harvard.edu/religion
The Forum on Religion and Ecology
P.O. Box 280, Lewisburg, PA 17837
The environmental crisis, global in scope and local in impact, requires major changes in how we think about our world and its future. Multidisciplinary efforts are needed to produce solutions to our interconnected environmental problems. The Forum on Religion and Ecology highlights the important roles that religions play in constructing moral frameworks for interacting with other people and the environment.
Foundation for Facing History and Ourselves
16 Hurd Road, Brookline, MA 02445-6919
617-232-1595
Ten regional offices: www.facinghistory.org
Since 1976, Facing History and Ourselves has offered in-depth professional development services; curricular resources; and ongoing support to educators and students in the areas of history, social studies, and language arts. They are dedicated to helping teachers around the world lead their students in a critical examination of history, with particular focus on genocide and mass violence.
Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance & Abolition
Yale University
P.O. Box 208206, 34 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520
203-432-3339
Gilder.Lehrman.Center@yale.edu
www.yale.edu/glc
The center is dedicated to the investigation and dissemination of knowledge concerning all aspects of chattel slavery and its destruction. While the primary focus has been on scholarly research, they also seeks to bridge the divide between scholarship and public knowledge by opening channels between the scholarly community and the wider public. The center facilitates a locally rooted understanding of the global impact of slavery through programs, publications, and annual conferences.
Harrison County Genealogical Society and Historical Museum
Temporarily housed at 707 N. Washington, Marshall, TX 75670
P.O. Box 1987, Marshall, TX 75671
903-938-2680
museum@marshalltx.com
www.harrisoncountymuseum.org
The museum library is open to all interested individuals and is recommended for researchers who have ancestors who lived in Harrison County. The museum houses a collection of Caddo Indian artifacts, Civil War memorabilia, a Tuskegee airman display, and mementos of James Farmer Jr., Lady Bird Johnson, Bill Moyers, and others.
Janet McKenzie Studio
www.janetmckenzie.com
Janet McKenzie’s strong, arresting style of painting celebrates the spirit of women and breaks down racial barriers. McKenzie’s “Jesus of the People,” depicts an androgynous black Christ and won The National Catholic Reporter’s competition for a 21st century Jesus. She writes, “‘The Keepers of Love’ is a visual reminder of the sorrow of America’s ongoing racial inequality.”
The Keepers of Love
For more information about the ongoing Keepers of Love Project, go to www. thekeepersoflove.com and www.chinagalland.com
Land Loss Fund (LLF)
CCT’s Land Loss Fund
P.O. Box 61, Tillery, NC 27887
http://members.aol.com/tillery/llf.html
This is a grassroots educational and charitable organization begun in 1983 that seeks to improve the social, educational, and economic welfare of people whose lives are being affected by the continued loss of family-owned land, especially in rural African American communities. LLF is a racially mixed group composed of farmers, educators, social workers, businesspersons, and other interested individuals. The fund provides educational, organizing, networking, research, and other technical assistance to small economically disadvantaged landowners in rural North Carolina counties in the effort to keep the land in the hands of the black community.
Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir
P.O. Box 11195, Oakland, CA 94611
510-891-0454, Fax: 510-891-0453
www.culturalheritagechoir.com
Linda Tillery heard field recordings of traditional African American music and uncovered a treasure trove of spirituals, work songs, field hollers, and slave songs in 1992. A master performer, veteran vocalist, percussionist, producer, cultural historian, teacher, and scholar whose international career has spanned thirty-four years, Tillery then assembled the Cultural Heritage Choir—Rhonda Benin, Elouise Burrell, Melanie DeMore, and Simon Monserrat—to perform the music that kept black people alive.
Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
415-358-7200
www.moadsf.org
MoAD’s goal is to promote, explore, and appreciate the contributions people of African descent have made across the globe, and to foster a greater understanding of human history and promote cross-cultural communication. The museum seeks to capture the essence of the African Diaspora experience.
Rock Rose Institute—The Art of Non-Violent Conflict Resolution
1009 General Kennedy, 1st Floor
P.O. Box 29317, San Francisco CA 94129-0317
415-561-3232
info@rockroseinstitute.org
www.rockroseinstitute.org
Founded in 2004 by four women attorneys committed to peace building, the institute supports, promotes and advances non-violent conflict resolution through education, improved communication and a deeper understanding of justice.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037
212-491-2200
www.ny.com/museums/schomburg.center.for.research.in.black.culture.html The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York has invaluable resources for researching African American history. The center, part of the New York Public Library system, also has a new interpretation and Web site for African-American history, on the self-motivated migrations of people of African descent: In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience with a companion book by the same name.
Sobonfu Somé
Ancestors Wisdom Spring
5960 South Land Park Drive #200, Sacramento, CA 95822
sobonfu@sobonfu.comwww.sobonfu.com
Author and teacher Sobonfu Somé, one of the foremost voices in African spirituality to come to the West, travels the world to share the rich spiritual life and culture of her native Burkina Faso and the Dagara tradition.
The Sophia Institute
26 Society Street, Charleston, SC 29401
843-720-8528
www.thesophiainstitute.org
The Sophia Institute offers retreats with authors and teachers such as Sue Monk Kidd, Marion Woodman, Jean Shinoda Bolen, China Galland, Dr. Gus Speth, Angeles Arrien, Rick Brown, Jean Houston, Janet McKenzie, and others, “transforming people who transform the world.” Modeling spiritual partnership and integration between feminine and masculine values, the institute fosters a spirit of co-creative wisdom.
Spirit Riders
www.spiritridersmovie.com
Ron His Horse Is Thunder
Sitting Bull College, Fort Yates, ND 58538
701-854-3861
www.sittingbull.edu
Spirit Riders is an international award-winning documentary film about an American Indian peace movement begun in 1990 by the Lakota Nation, and its growth over the subsequent years. The thirteen-day winter horseback ride through the snows from Chief Sitting Bull’s assassination site to Wounded Knee was created to honor and memorialize the massacre at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. The “Wiping Away the Tears” ceremony performed inspires Lakota leaders to continue the rides annually for the sake of Lakota youth, now called “Future Generation Riders.”
Texas Center for Documentary Photography
2104 E. Martin Luther King Blvd, Austin, TX 78702
512-478-8387
alanpogue@mac.com
www.documentaryphotographs.com
Alan Pogue’s photographs focus on issues of social justice the world over: from Iraq to Guatemala and New Orleans. Pogue is the staff photographer for The Texas Observer, and a friend of Love Cemetery.
Texas Historical Commission
P.O. Box 12276, Austin, TX 78711-2276
512-463-6100
thc@thc.state.tx.us
www.thc.state.tx.us
The Texas Historical Commission works with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas’s architectural, archeological, and cultural landmarks, as well as Texas’s cemeteries.
Texas Observer
307 West 7th Street, Austin, TX 78701
512-477-0746
800-939-6620 toll-free business@texasobserver.org
www.texasobserver.org
The Texas Observer writes about issues ignored or underreported in the mainstream press. Molly Ivins was a former editor of this independent monthly. Their goal is to cover stories crucial to the public interest and to provoke dialogue that promotes democratic participation and open government, in pursuit of a vision of Texas where education, justice, and material progress are available to all.
U.S. National Slavery Museum
Vonita W. Foster, Ph.D. Executive Director
1320 Central Park Boulevard, Suite 251, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
540-548-8818
www.usnationalslaverymuseum.org
Construction on the United States National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia, began in 2006 and is scheduled for completion in 2008. The museum will offer 100,000 feet of permanent and temporary exhibit space. Exhibits will take visitors on a journey through time, beginning with Africa as the cradle of civilization through the Middle Passage on slave ships, to the slave resistance movement, the Civil War, and the continuing struggle for equality today. The library and archives at the museum will serve all those seeking information pertaining to slavery in America. Through a vast and ever-growing collection of materials in all formats—oral histories, maps, rare editions, film, and video—it will tell the individual and collective story of a people and their pursuit of freedom.
Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE)
Oriel Chambers
27 High Street, Hull, HU1 1NE, United Kingdom
+44 (0) 1482 305176
www.hull.ac.uk/wise/
WISE is named after William Wilberforce, a British statesman and reformer from the early part of the nineteenth century who led a successful twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade. He was also instrumental in passing legislation to abolish slavery in the British colonies, just three days before his death in 1833. The institute sponsors conferences and carries on academic research and learning that shed new light on slavery and modern human rights abuses. Amazing Grace, a feature film by Ken Wales, chronicles William Wilberforce’s extraordinary contributions to the world. A companion biography, Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas, was published simultaneously (HarperSanFrancisco, 2007). The film sparked “Amazing Change,” a modern-day campaign “to carry on Wilberforce’s vision of justice and mercy” and to end slavery today. See also Not For Sale by Eric Metaxes, www.theamazingchange.com.