6-24-11: Black Male Identity Project

Last fall, community arts organization Art on Purpose launched a year-long initiative called the Black Male Identity Project. The goal was to highlight positive images of black men and boys that run counter to much of the imagery found in pop culture and the media.

What does it mean to be a black male today? Is the narrative of black men in American society told in a way that is inaccurate or incomplete?  To explore those questions and more, Tom Hall talks to two men who are affiliated with groups that are partnering with Art on Purpose to offer workshops in the Black Male Identity Project.

LaMarr Darnell Shields is the co-founder and president of the Urban Leadership Institute.   Ernest Shaw is an artist and the head of the art department at Baltimore’s Connexions School, an after school program in the Oliver neighborhood that serves fifth and sixth graders, and a teaching artist at Baltimore BORN.

There are a number of events planned around the Black Male Identity Project throughout the year.  The next one takes place Sunday afternoon at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture.  It starts at noon, and it includes performances and a whole range of activities.