Writer and Activist James Baldwin Celebrated at the Easton Library

Art, readings and a quilt anchored the Easton Arts Council’s exhibit at the Easton Public Library on March 2 celebrating the life of famed writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin.

“Black History, Identity, and James Baldwin Centennial” paid tribute to Black History and Baldwin’s profound impact on American literature and civil rights activism through various media of art and engaging discussions of identity and compassion. The event was co-hosted by the Easton Public Library, the Easton Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce (EDIT) and the James Baldwin Project.

“I feel very privileged because I haven’t come across a James Baldwin centennial so full,” said Dr. Colin G. Harrison who attended Saturday’s event. “High marks to Easton.”

Guests were treated to a diverse range of artwork and an assortment of food and drinks. Artistic contributions included a wide range of age groups and institutions, including Discovery Magnet School third-graders, Joel Barlow High School students and Columbia University undergraduates.

The showcase included works by renowned artists such as Larry Morse, The BOLT Sisters, Kenya Baleech Alkebu, Mikka Kabugo, Morgan Overton and Steve Schapiro.

The event is the brainchild of Sheila Weaver and Karen Thorsen of the Easton Arts Council, initially inspired by a labor of love art piece in the form of a quilt that the BOLT Sisters, a national group of quilting artists, had been diligently working on.

Thorsen is the founder and director of the James Baldwin Project.org. Her documentary film classic “James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket”, co-produced with Bill Miles in collaboration with Maysles Films, has aired in PBS’s American Masters series.

“People approached Sheila about the quilt,” said Thorsen.”She brought it up at an art council meeting and I jumped in with everything related to Baldwin. Black history is something we want to honor and when we saw these women were willing to put in the work to create the quilt; everything just started coming together.”

Each section of the quilt represents individual quilts that were laid out to help lead slaves away from the South during the time of the underground railroad in a way that did not arouse suspicion. Each square had a message falling under one of three categories: preparation for the journey, instructions to follow, and directions on the journey to freedom.

“We wanted to look in to underground railroad quilts partly because of its oral history,” said Jane Helfgott, a member of The BOLT Sister’s. “Slaves were not taught to read or write so oral history is very important in their families. We wanted to create this as an educational tool because the underground railroad is a phenomenon that arose in the last few decades. We intend for it to become a traveling and living educational tool that can go to different libraries and schools. We added activity cards, which are attached to the quilt on the side. Each block has a card, and on the back of the card there’s a fact about the block and an artist statement with different theories and activities.”

Renowned artist Larry Morse showcased an exhibit titled, “The Black Man Reading,” highlighting the importance of understanding different cultural perspectives.

“It’s important people come to this event to gain insight into the lives of individuals who arrived from a particular culture, in this case, the Black culture,” said Morse. “What I want people to take away is if this is an aspect of Black males’ personal experience that I am not aware of, then what else is there that exists that I haven’t witnessed or understood?” said Morse.

Mikka Kabugo, an undergraduate at Columbia University in New York City, showcased artwork inspired by James Baldwins life. Through his university’s “Justice in Education” program, Kabugo collaborates with incarcerated individuals on Rikers Island to use art as a conduit for self-expression and empowerment.

“I am thinking about my impact as something that is going to take a while to actualize, and there’s no payment for it, there’s no way of representing it other than in art,” said Kabugo. “When I walk in with canvas and a bunch of paintbrushes I want to explore something in their minds and activate them to be able to change the narrative of their own stories.”

The finale of the evening was Larry Morse and Kit Briner’s emotionally engaging spoken word performance where they shared clips and quotes from Baldwin’s lifetime, emphasizing the importance in listening to our hearts, telling the truth, and examining our own lives in order to understand ourselves better.

“I think it’s an excellent turnout,” said Lynn Harrison. “It is a wonderful event, there was so much love actually here and to try to bring the people together I am very impressed with the different art representations from children to all these amazing representations and sharing this and interacting with one another is to me just wonderful.”

As part of the celebration, Baldwin-related artwork is on display through March 16 in the Easton Public Library.

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