Black Horizons; 3024; Umoja

You Welcome to Black Horizon. I'm Chris Moore and thanks for joining us. Would you like your children to learn more about African history, art and heritage? Well, thanks to the efforts of our next guest or guest for the day, that could be happening sooner than you think. As part of Project Aussie, the African Heritage Studies Initiative, the Emoja African Arts Company will be bringing African dance music history and more to a school or museum near you. Through a combined effort with the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Project Aussie

is seeking to make a change for the better. Joining us tonight are Emoja Artistic Director, LA Cahonia. Dr. Stan Ditten of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Merlin Russell of Carnegie Museum of Art and Andrea Long of Emoja. Andrea and all of you, welcome to our program. Tell me about this program. This is new. This is exciting. It's an opportunity for diversity and culture and so much more, right? Absolutely, Chris. Project Aussie originated from a stem of performances in which Emoja conducted last year, Africa Shout Voyage. And we found that after conducting the performances, various schools and students were very excited about how can we take this one step further and receive the benefits of Emoja African Arts Company. So, Ali and I contacted Stan Ditten

and inquired about the interest of the students, of the schools that participated in going into the schools in conducting workshops and residencies, which we'd have African dance, visual arts, such as mass making, as well as African music. Dr. Ditten, I made so many ideas. Come over the Transome. What did you think when this one landed on your desk? Well, first and foremost, we were just very excited about the prospect of working with such a reputable and quality arts organization as Emoja. Emoja has been working in the Pittsburgh public schools for a number of years and such as the Africa Shout Program that Ms. Long just referred to. And we've had a good experience with them. We're now adopting a standards -based curriculum and one of those standards calls for understanding and appreciating others. And so little is understood and so much is misunderstood

when it comes to African studies until this is an opportunity to correct some of the wrongs and dispel some of the myths. So, you just won't be going to the Miller School where they have a curriculum designed to fit in very well with this, you're going to go almost everywhere, I guess, in the district, right? We're looking at this as something that can go district -wide, yes. Mr. Caroney, as the artist in the group, how do you feel about being able to have this wider performance venue to take your art and your music and your culture and the heritage and the understanding about Americans and Africans and African Americans to students in the Pittsburgh public schools? Well, basically, the music conception or what the African art basically been around the USA and that's what we're going there to correct. We've been around, as you said, for a long time. And by the problem is, these people still don't understand it. And the reason is simple because we haven't really explained it yet to our children. When you talk, you tell a child that the

art or the dance you're doing, it came from Africa. A kid will not relate directly with that. They have to have, you've got to have some other way for a little chain. So, his kids see how the influence really is based through the dance, through the song, to the rhythm. For him to kind of compare it both and realize that whatever he's doing today, it's not something that they learn only in the recent days, but it's been there for many, many years because the African art is the art, I will say, the humanity. Today, all over all of the world, everywhere you go, we got dancing, African music, all the museum, what they're exposing is basically African music. And you know, African American music is the music that all over the world, even in China, everywhere in India, that's what they're playing, aren't they? Reggae, you know, blues, jazz, which all those art music is coming from Africa. And that's why we're going to the school to kind of give the kids an understanding of where this life came from. Marlon Russell, I guess those of us in the media take a beating on some of the

stereotypes that people commonly believe. I can see the you part of the media being with the Carnegie Museum of Art because you disseminate so much good information that could counteract that kind of stuff. What will the Carnegie's role in all of this be? Well, the Museum of Art has a collection of African art that is permanently on view in the museum's galleries. And we've collaborated with some Pittsburgh public schools over the years to develop some some programs in which students come to the museum to supplement the classroom kinds of activities that they do. And excellent idea. Especially we've had a great relationship with Fort Pitt School in which they've come to the museum several times over the course of one school year. The students will come repeatedly and study the objects that we have on view. And we've used it especially as a catalyst for creative writing projects. And it's culminated in the students writing being presented in the galleries as a little program that they present. That's their response to the kinds of art that they've seen in the way in which that art touches them as contemporary students in America today.

And again, it links to what Ellie's saying about that heritage. Now, is this also part of the soul of Africa exhibitors? Is this something that's going to be an extension of that? Well, the Soul of Africa exhibition is an opportunity, a spectacular and rare opportunity for us to really present African art in a much grander and much more spectacular way than we can with our permanent collection. The Soul of Africa is a collection of over 200 objects from 48 different African cultural groups that will be on view in the Museum of Art beginning on May 8th and runs through the end of July in the summer. It sounds like a fabulous resource. It's a wonderful resource and we will be doing programs to prepare teachers and students throughout the winter so that they're in a position to really take advantage of these outstanding objects when they're in the Museum. Dr. Dent, will you all be collaborating and working together with the schools and the museum to make sure that this happens? Certainly, hope so. And that was on the stand -up point of the module. We already participated in the Soul of Africa in New York, for example. Soul of Africa is the exhibition you know being on tour in the USA and Pittsburgh is the last city.

That's just getting this exhibition before no man again. At least we get it though, right? It's from the University of Zurich and it's one of the most renowned collections of African art in the world and it's having a very limited run in the United States and Hollywood. It seems odd that it would be from Zurich. I wonder why Zurich? The collection was assembled between 1916 and 1928 by Han Korai who was a Swiss art dealer and teacher and his collection which numbered about 2 ,000 objects at one point was then given to the University of Zurich which has organized the exhibition and circulating it. Okay, I understand. He probably made many trips to Africa then. And yes, in that time period, African art, his collection was one of the ways in which African art was first recognized in European circles for its aesthetic. So he's done some good just by doing that. I can imagine some of the stereotypes persisted about African art for a long time. His long emoji itself and the performances, how are they received when you go into schools? Very well, exceptionally well. The students participate not only by hands long

but by jumping on the stage, inquiring often we tend to run over on a lot of our performances and residencies. The principal is looking at you like this. Exactly, we're signaling us. And it's also by, I'd like to add by collaborating with the Carnegie Museum. The Museum is a viable tool to also reach the African and African American community as well as the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Well, if I want to add what Andrea is talking about and especially what the reason really we thought is valuable to have Miss Denton to help us through this whole project because question like this, if you go to school kids will ask you a simple question like, what are you doing in Africa? Do you have TV? Do you have this? What do you leave? Do you have animal walking around? And you know, it's simple because they never understand. The stereotype is just resisting. Exactly. Exactly. So that's why you know, having Miss Denton with us in Maryland,

we think it sounds like it's much more than just performance. In other words, education first. You know, we're getting there to educate first to, as you say, fight this stereotype because if a person understands where you are, where you came from, what kind of valuable tool you have to offer in the world and a person who has such a way to look in a different eyes and in the usual. At the opportunity for first -hand learning also that you can achieve when you have an actual performance, music, drumming, dancing, and the visual arts, original visual arts objects, is the kind of learning that really sticks with the learner regardless of whether the learner is a child or a adult. Because it's interactive? And because you're looking at primary material that you draw your own conclusions from. You compare it to what you already know. There's something before you that you can ask questions of and help to establish your response to original situations, original material. Ms. Long, a lot of educators are probably watching this program in January. You're getting underway this month and you're going to be going all the way through June with the

public schools. That is correct. How can they get in contact with you? Who should they contact? They should contact me. Andre Long at Emoja African Arts Company and our number is 412 -471 -1121. Would you repeat that, please? Andre Long, Emoja African Arts Company. 412 -471 -1121. And Ms. Russell, the exhibit about Africa, the soul of Africa, when is it starting? How long will it run? It opens at the Carnegie Museum of Art on May 8th and runs through July 18th and will have a tremendous array of programming through Emoja and lots of national and international recognized performing in groups and lectures. Okay. Dr. Denton, I'm sure you are looking forward to seeing all the young, bright faces expand their minds and they're learning and destroying a lot of stereotypes in the Pittsburgh public schools, right? Absolutely. This is really the realization of a dream control to see authentic African cultural studies being taught beginning at the

elementary level and moving all the way up to grade 12. As a performer, what is your greatest excitement? Well, we're going to just roll those drums and schools and have those kids jumping and dancing and understanding exactly what the culture of Africa is. Well, it might be time to jump and dance right now there. Thanks for being here. We do appreciate. Thank you. All right. Hey. Hey.

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Do you think and number of people we talked to mentioned this senior citizen center were so confused either they didn't know anything about home roll charter or if they did you know very very confused do you think people have to learn more I mean they have to go out there and find out more about this get more information about home roll charter? Yes I do I believe they do I believe that they need to know these are the same people that organized the half a percent stadium tax they started on a plan A with a stadium tax error and that fell so they went on to plan B and plan B only cut out 25 % of the tax payer's money you still have to pay 75 % so I my recommendation is is to get more information contact your local officials feel free to call West Mifflin I'll make sure the information's there if nobody else will give it to you. Also do you recommend that people get out there on May 19th and vote on the referendum?

Very strongly I recommend that they come out like they did with the stadium tax because if the home roll charter's passed I think they're going to kick themselves down a road that it was passed you know they came out and spoke for the stadium tax and I think they need to do that now let them look at what happened 60 years of government nothing was wrong with it ran fine we had jobs here right now the current system isn't working right because probably because of the leadership I mean you cut jobs I'm gonna move to the look for another job that's why people are leaving the area it's not because of the type of government that set up that's all that's it that's all I hope I did good yeah we should get some road time okay title silence rolling around time for sure better get a motorcycle in there