Creative Circles: Exploring Community within African American Art
April 5 - June 30, 2010
Exhibition Checklist
Held in conjunction with the Beyond the Blues exhibition at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the exhibition will display manuscript materials and artwork which will provide a more intimate understanding of the interconnected lives and careers of some of the artists represented in Beyond the Blues.

Beyond the Blues: Reflections of African America in the Fine Arts Collection of the Amistad Research Center
April 10 - July 11, 2010
New Orleans Museum of Art
Exhibition Website
Presented by the Amistad Research Center and the New Orleans Museum of Art, Beyond the Blues presents over 125 years of art by African American artists and about the African American experience, drawn from the extraordinary but little known fine arts collection of the Amistad Research Center. This exhibition of nearly 150 works illuminates the contributions and challenges faced by African American artists from the late 19th century to the present day. The works have been selected from the over 400 paintings, prints, and three-dimensional works of art that comprise the fine arts collection at Amistad. Ranging from the naturalistic vision of the late 19th century through varied 20th century artistic movements to the present day, the works presented in this exhibition reveal narratives of faith, history, society, and culture created by African American artists.

Tom Dent: A Heavy Trip Through the South
July 6 - September 29, 2010
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This exhibition, highlighting the life and varied careers of poet, playwright, and oral historian Tom Dent (1932-1998), will be held as a celebration of the completion of the arrangement of the Tom Dent Papers and the opening of the collection for research.  To further celebrate Tom's life, the Center hosted a series of public events, including a reception and panel, as well as a talk by Andrew Young. 

Through a Crowd, Bravely: The 50th Anniversary of Public School Desegregation in New Orleans
October 4 - December 22, 2010
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In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the "New Orleans Schools Crisis," this exhibition will draw from Amistad's many archival collections, oral histories, and printed sources to provide the context of the move to desegregate public schools in New Orleans, its place in the history of education desegregation, and the events of November 4, 1960, and beyond.  A series of lectures and panel discussions accompanied the exhibition.

Harold Battiste: Keeping the Music Alive
January 18 - April 14, 2011
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This exhibition celebrates not only the opening of the Harold R. Battiste Papers at the Amistad Research Center, but the 50th anniversary of Battiste's founding of AFO Records, the first African American musician-owned record label. Throughout his career, Mr. Battiste has documented the second 50 years of New Orleans jazz through his own recordings and those of AFO. His talents have also allowed him to work with a wide variety of musical artists, from Sam Cooke to Dr. John to Sonny and Cher. Join us in honoring Mr. Battiste and his career through his collection of letters, photographs, phonograph records, writings, and documents related to his various musical and teaching activities.

Richmond Barthe: Builder of Pictures
April 18 - July 8, 2011
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This exhibition celebrates the life of Mississippi-born artist Richmond Barthé. The subject of a recent biography by art historian Margaret Rose Vendryes, Barthé is known for his eclectic and sensual visual language that allowed him to create an oeuvre that defied race and sexual orientation while, at the same time, elevating Black subjects above contemporary caricatures to render them timeless. Taken mostly from the Richmond Barthé Papers at the Amistad Research Center, the materials on display include letters, photographs, sketches, writings, and sculptures related to his artistic journey from a student in Chicago to Harlem Renaissance star to expatriate in Jamaica. 

Operation Crossroads Africa: "Progenitor of the Peace Corps"
July 12 - September 29, 2011
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This exhibition commemorates the history and legacy of Operation Crossroads Africa (OCA), the cross-cultural exchange program that has sent over 11,000 young North Americans to work at the grassroots level with young African leaders. Founded in 1958 by Rev. James Herman Robinson, OCA was acknowledged by President John F. Kennedy as the "progenitor of the Peace Corps." This year, the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, marks an ideal opportunity to acknowledge the vast contributions of OCA, which served as a model for the Peace Corps both in terms of design and ethos. Taken mostly from the records of OCA and the personal papers of Rev. Robinson, the materials on display include letters, photographs, scrapbooks, and journals related to the history of OCA and its founder.

The Revolution Will Not Be...: Print Culture of the Civil Rights Movement
October 3 - December 22, 2011
Exhibition Checklist
The Civil Rights Movement coincided with rapid changes in a variety of news and communications media. The expansion of television and documentary filmmaking brought images of the struggles of African Americans and those who supported civil rights into the homes of the American populace. However, control of the tone and content of electronic media was not always in the hands of those who were being documented. It was the democratization of various printed media that allowed civil rights leaders, workers, and organizations to circulate their combined, and sometimes contradictory, voices. This exhibition will highlight the newspapers, posters, broadsides, pamphlets and other printed ephemera produced by student groups, leading civil rights organizations, and individuals, which documented a revolutionary era.

More than Just a Game: Athletics and the African American Experience
January 9-March 29, 2012
As in many walks of life, athletics and sports have provided both arenas of triumph and reminders of discrimination for African Americans. From Jackie Robinson and Jesse  Owens to Olympic boycotts and college athletics, this exhibition examines the connection between African American athletics and civil rights, and illustrates that sports can sometimes be more than just a game. Highlighting the Russell L. Stockard Sr. sports collection, as well as selected materials from a variety of archival collections, the materials on display include letters, photographs, petitions, news clippings, and other primary sources from Amistad’s unique holdings.