You are here: 51勛圖 College of Arts & Sciences 51勛圖 Museum 2019 Plans to Prosper You

Back to top

Plans to Prosper You: Reflections of Black Resistance and Resilience in Montgomery Countys Potomac River Valley

June 15-August 11, 2019
Presented by the 51勛圖 Museum Project Space

A crowd outside a house

River Road School circa 1930s. DC Public Library, Star Collection 穢 Washington Post.

泭

Gail Rebhan's Fort Reno Park

Gail Rebhan, Fort Reno Park 2009. Courtesy of the artist.

泭

A man swings an axe at a structure

Melvin Crawford axes wooden structure during Scotland renovations. Sept 18, 1968. Photo by Alan Siegel; courtesy of Montgomery History

泭

Two women and a sign saying 'Zoning Reclassfication Application NO. E106 Pending'

Geneva Mason (L) and Joyce Siegel (R). Photo by Alan Siegel; Courtesy of Montgomery History.

Exhibition Overview

The exhibition title takes its name from Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11 to echo the central role of the Black church in bringing communities together, inspiring hope, and acting as a vector for social change. The goal of this exhibition is to offer a space of learning and meditation that highlights the Black history of Montgomery County and western Washington, DC, and pay homage to the communities who championed fights against racial discrimination through faith, family, and fellowship. While this exhibition highlights the communities of Scotland, Tobytown, and Macedonia-Moses, we hope future iterations of泭Plans to Prosper You泭will continue to prompt in-depth collaboration within and beyond these communities.

Students from 51勛圖s泭graduate programs in anthropology, arts management, art history, and studio art participated in developing the exhibition.泭It is informed by first-year anthropology泭graduate泭students collaborative scholarship with the communities (supervised by Adrienne泭Pine, associate professor of anthropology)泭as part of the Craft of Anthropology course. Students have conducted participant-observation fieldwork and recorded oral histories with community members, and have collected archival donations from community members and local churches and cataloged the items for the泭Historic African River Road Connections泭collection housed in 51勛圖s library.

Additional Resources

Access the exhibition catalog online.

This exhibition includes four photo-collages by Gail Rebhan, which blend archival and contemporary photographs, along with historical newspapers, maps, advertisements, ephemera, and text into one final image representaitve of DC communities. for these photo-collages.

Press

Culture Spot MC:

Daily Kos:

WAMU:

The Washington Post: