‘I Am Somebody’ New Museum Exhibit Explores The History Of African-American Culture In The Inland Northwest

Darrius Dean knows who he is.

He’s a birthday cake, three scoops of ice cream, a huge chunk of brownie and a contemplative Martin Luther King Jr. all jumbled into one, not to mention a Milky Way bar and a tube of Colgate as arms.

He’s somebody who knows what he likes.

“I like food,” the 5-year-old announced, offering a shy smile.

Darrius was one of 72 kids in the Martin Luther King Jr. Center’s Summer Youth Academy who created various artwork as part of a local exhibit, “I Am Somebody.” The show, which highlights African-American culture and history, opened last week at the Cheney Cowles Museum in conjunction with the Jacob Lawrence art exhibit.

The museum and various Spokane organizations serving African Americans are collaborating in a first-time effort to produce a community-oriented exhibit about black history in the city. The display includes black and white photographs of both well-known and everyday African-American people in Spokane, taped interviews with local African Americans, artwork, black publications and election paraphernalia.

Museum director Glenn Mason said he wanted to bring the art to the walls of Cheney Cowles to help bridge ethnic communities.

The “I Am Somebody” theme, which is borrowed from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center’s I Am Somebody Summer Youth Academy, speaks to the importance of self-discovery as a starting point for learning about each other, Mason said.

“All of us need to know who we are first before we can begin to understand and respect others,” Mason said.

For kids, part of that early self-discovery comes with creating things, said Valerie Marshall, director of the center.

The exhibit is a way the kids’ creativity can be appreciated by others, Marshall said.

The project also was a logical step in bringing visibility to Spokane’s African-American community and at the same time reinforcing the goals of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Marshall said.

Part of the youth academy - a program which provides classes and extracurricular activities for kids ages 4-12 - focuses on building self-esteem in children.

Ryan Stewart spends a lot of his free time drawing. The 12-year-old, who made pencil sketches for the exhibit, said artwork helps him feel like he’s accomplished something.

“It’s kind of fun,” Ryan said. “It makes me feel good about myself.”

The children also made banners with their names, smiling clay heads and colorful jewelry. The young artists will have a chance to tour the museum in groups each week throughout the summer to see their final products.

The children’s artwork will be rotated each week with a new theme to reflect one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa, a seven-day non-denominational holiday held Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 that combines principles from various cultures and religions.

The tenets emphasized are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

Ashley Washington, 12, learned about the importance of unity as she worked alongside classmates to create a place mat using African-American colors of red, green and black.

“At the (MLK) center, everyone works together,” Ashley said.

Part of the exhibit is an interactive display of selected black newspapers from the Spokane area, some dating back to 1912.

These publications are a testament to the thriving black community in Spokane that existed decades ago and continues to prosper, said curator Marsha Rooney.

“(The exhibit) shows how alive the African-American culture has been all along,” Rooney said.

The exhibit is arranged loosely in chronological order with photographs and displays of people and events up to the present.

The photographs include Marjorie Boyd Wellington, the first black graduate at Eastern Washington University, members of the “hot gang” (a road crew known for working in sweltering heat), and Clifford Richey, who came to Spokane with his family in the 1950s and started Richey Helicopter Service.

Richey and a TV reporter died in 1985 in a helicopter crash while covering a Bloomsday run.

“Everybody has a story to tell,” Rooney said. “I want to know all the stories, not just those listed in the who’s who.”

The project also shows that museums are not just an “adult thing.” Rooney said museums increasingly need to look at ways of representing all kinds of people, particularly kids.

Rooney hopes the exhibit will help draw in new faces to the museum. One of her goals is “getting people to see themselves and their work in the museum,” Rooney said.

That’s part of the reason why “I Am Somebody” is so important, said Brenda Kane, the center’s children services coordinator.

“When they walk into the exhibit and see things they have made, they’re going to be ecstatic,” Kane said.

The art show also is a chance for children to see role models.

“This is an exhibit that African-American people can relate to,” Kane said. “They will see some of their relatives, friends, people they know.”

Kane also hopes that the children’s enthusiasm will spark interest in their parents as well.

“This will get them over there to visit the museum to see that there’s more there than antique objects,” Kane said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 Color)

MEMO: The “I Am Somebody” exhibit continues through Sept. 1 at Cheney Cowles Museum, 2316 W. First (phone: 456-3931). The I Am Somebody Summer Youth Academy is seeking donations to support its activities. For information, call 455-8722 or write to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, P.O. Box 40193, Spokane, WA 99202.