{"id":5236,"global_id":"portlandartmuseum.org?id=5236","global_id_lineage":["portlandartmuseum.org?id=5236"],"author":"15","status":"publish","date":"2023-06-21 16:28:31","date_utc":"2023-06-21 23:28:31","modified":"2024-07-11 15:47:36","modified_utc":"2024-07-11 22:47:36","url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/event\/color-line-black-excellence-on-the-world-stage\/","rest_url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/events\/5236","title":"Color Line: Black Excellence on the World Stage","description":"

Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In an exhibit at the 1900 Paris Exposition, W.E.B. Du Bois presented a remarkable portrait of African American life. A selection of these photographs and data charts at the Museum invites visitors to critically engage with the visual dynamics of race.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the International Exposition of 1900 in Paris, American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois put together \u201cThe American Negro Exhibit,\u201d a remarkable collection of more than 300 photographs of African-American men and women, homes, churches, businesses, and universities. These photographs were paired with a series of charts and graphs designed by Du Bois to visualize data about the descendants of former slaves in the United States. The exhibit directly challenged racist stereotypes and notions of racial segregation that were pervasive at the time. As part of this exhibit in Paris, Du Bois presented his prophetic and poetic statement, \u201cThe problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line\u201d\u2014a problem of the human condition that remains unresolved to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Old
Two African American women, three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing each other (1899 or 1900), part of W. E. B. Du Bois\u2019s albums of photographs exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, v. 1, no. 48. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Combating these effects on a personal level, the photographs tell a story of beauty, strength, excellence, and\u2014most poignantly of all\u2014humanity. Collaborating with Booker T. Washington and Thomas Calloway, Du Bois chose images meant to showcase the presence, progress, and excellence of African Americans who, at the time, represented the first generation after slavery. Through his data visualizations, Du Bois used the striking visual language of bright colors and bold lines to convey the \u201ccolor line\u201d to a European audience. The exhibit won a gold medal at the Paris 1900 Exposition and is now part of the collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This summer, a selection of these photographs and data charts from Du Bois\u2019s \u201cThe American Negro Exhibit\u201d will be reproduced and placed on view here at the Museum, along with a reading room space and additional resources. Developed by a project team of staff across departments including Alex Haynes, Rene Deras, Adam Garcia, John Goodwin, Grace Kook-Anderson, Ella Ray, Ted Smith, and Jeremiah Wyatt, Color Line<\/em> invites visitors to critically engage with the visual dynamics of race at the moment of the 1900 Paris Exposition and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Old
Howard Univ., Washington, D.C., ca. 1900 \u2013 class in bacteriology laboratory (ca. 1900), part of W. E. B. Du Bois albums of photographs exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe main influence for this project is the humanity that lies within framing one\u2019s own personal history,\u201d remarks Alex Haynes, who works in the Museum\u2019s Learning and Community Partnerships department and was a member of this exhibition\u2019s project team. \u201cAfter running into dead ends when researching my own family history, I began to increasingly value oral histories and photographs that came from my grandparents and family members. There\u2019s something personal and beautiful to the way that Du Bois documented and showcased the excellence of the first generation of African Americans after slavery. My hope is to bring that narrative to the forefront and emphasize how much that display of culture and humanity still means, more than 100 years later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

View and search the entire collection of 553 photographs, data charts, and documents through the Library of Congress<\/a>.<\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"color-line-black-excellence-on-the-world-stage","image":{"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro.jpeg","id":5238,"extension":"jpeg","width":945,"height":1200,"filesize":229524,"sizes":{"medium":{"width":551,"height":700,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":61089,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro-551x700.jpeg"},"thumbnail":{"width":270,"height":270,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":15933,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro-270x270.jpeg"},"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":975,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":107424,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro-768x975.jpeg"},"small":{"width":375,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":34262,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro-375x500.jpeg"},"medium-large":{"width":709,"height":900,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":94058,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro-709x900.jpeg"},"card":{"width":904,"height":565,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":89119,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro-904x565.jpeg"},"post":{"width":945,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":95129,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro-945x500.jpeg"},"hero":{"width":945,"height":1080,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":155416,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The-Georgia-Negro-945x1080.jpeg"}}},"all_day":true,"start_date":"2019-06-15 00:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2019","month":"06","day":"15","hour":"00","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2023-08-27 23:59:59","end_date_details":{"year":"2023","month":"08","day":"27","hour":"23","minutes":"59","seconds":"59"},"utc_start_date":"2019-06-15 07:00:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2019","month":"06","day":"15","hour":"07","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2023-08-28 06:59:59","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2023","month":"08","day":"28","hour":"06","minutes":"59","seconds":"59"},"timezone":"America\/Vancouver","timezone_abbr":"","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"$","currency_code":"USD","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[{"name":"Exhibitions","slug":"exhibitions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":201,"filter":"raw","id":17,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/17","collection":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}}],"tags":[],"venue":{"id":290,"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2023-03-28 10:28:29","date_utc":"2023-03-28 17:28:29","modified":"2024-03-07 10:38:06","modified_utc":"2024-03-07 18:38:06","url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/venue\/portland-art-museum\/","venue":"Portland Art Museum","description":"

The Museum is conveniently located on the historic Park Blocks in the center of downtown Portland, which is easy to get around by public transit or on foot. The Portland Business Alliance has installed way-finding signs which direct you to the cultural district, where the Museum is located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is generally plenty of street parking surrounding the Museum. These spaces range from 1 \u2013 4 hours and can be paid for using a credit card or the Parking Kitty app<\/a>. There are also surface parking lots, and parking garages within 1 \u2013 4 blocks of the Museum. The closest surface lot is located at SW Main St. between SW 10th Ave. and Park Ave, and there are dedicated accessible and van accessible spaces. This lot accepts credit card or the Reef app<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public transit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Getting to get to the Museum by public transportation is straightforward and economical. The bus and streetcar travel directly past the Museum, and the MAX light rail has a stop only four blocks away.\u00a0TriMet\u2019s Trip Planner<\/a>\u00a0gives you step-by-step travel directions from your location by bus, light rail, or streetcar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n