Spotlight on black identity
Black History Month has been on the calendar since 1976, the year of the nation’s bicentennial. But it got its start in an academic setting, at Kent State University in 1970, largely as a celebration of the historically neglected achievements of Black Americans. Now, two Harvard graduate students, founders of a new lecture and performance series, are adding an element they say has been largely absent over the years: a look at art history from a black perspective, Africa included. The result is Black History/Art History, a four-event series that combines traditional academic lectures (two) with nontraditional performances (two), a blend that the organizers hope will start a conversation about evolving black identity in an era of global exchange. “We’re coming at this from a place of consideration and critique,” said Layla Bermeo, a third-year doctoral student in History of Art and Architecture, “not from a place of celebration, but a place of...