African American Heritage House (AAHH)
2021 Overview
By any measure, 2021 has been a successful year for the African American Heritage House (AAHH) at Chautauqua Institution (CHQ).
We began the year engaged in the Mirror Project Monthly Reading Circle where we shared our thoughts and observations monthly on a number of books including The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, and Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr.
The monthly meetings, most of which had multiple sessions were expertly facilitated by Sony Ton-Aime from the CHQ team and occasionally by AAHH board members such as Ted First and Erroll Davis.
The AAHH Program Committee again did an outstanding job identifying and securing a quality speaker for each week of the season. This season we were especially pleased to welcome DeRay Mckesson and Wes Moore among our array of speakers. For the first time, we also worked with the CHQ administration to jointly place a speaker, Dr. Raphael Bostic, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, in the main Amphitheater.
While our talks were designed to complement the weekly themes, they also were designed to emphasize our major thrust of “getting the narrative correct.” Our often-articulated view is that: We must get the history correct in order to get the understandings correct in order to get the present and future relationships correct.
Our activities were not limited to presenting speakers on the CHQ Assembly platform. As in the past, we entertained a number of the morning chaplains of color including Rev. Zena Jacque, Rev. Frank Thomas, and Rev Lisa Harper. There was also a joint reception for Dr. Bostic and Rev. Harper at the AAHH House.
We also continued our Sunday “Porch Chats” at the Athenaeum Hotel. During these chats, we often covered the history of Chautauqua, the history of people of color at Chautauqua, the messages from our speakers, and any other topics the weekly crowd of 50+ people wanted to cover. At one of the “Chats”, we were pleased to welcome representatives of Homeboy Industries who shared their personal messages of triumph with the enthralled audience.
AAHH outreach expanded substantially this season. We, along with the LGBTQ+ and Friends organization, jointly sponsored a mixer for the theatre, opera, and visual arts students. In the homes of AAHH board members, we also sponsored separate receptions for the individual arts groups.
A clear highlight of the season was the unveiling of the marker commemorating the Phillis Wheatley house at Chautauqua and this under-recognized element of the history of African-Americans at Chautauqua. The marker – an important work of art in its own right – was dedicated in a ceremony that attracted several hundred people. The event was a direct result not only of the hard work of numerous volunteers but also of the AAHH investment in archival research.
In summary, the year has gone well. Both our impact and our outreach beyond the boundaries of the Institution has increased. None of this would have been possible without the support of our limited staff, Board members, and countless volunteers. As an organization entirely dependent upon contributions, we have been pleased by the outpouring of support for our efforts.
In spite of the storm clouds at the national level, we continue to view the future positively. We fully expect our impact will continue to grow both inside and outside of the grounds of the Institution. Our focus will remain on social justice issues. Our archival research will continue. And our work to get the narrative correct will not end. Our goal of making Chautauqua a more open and welcoming place for people of color will continue to be the main area of focus. Stay tuned.
For the upcoming season, we are planning to once again present live speakers on the grounds. We also will explore the concept of a scholar in residence as well as searching for a more permanent home for our efforts
The Board of the African American Heritage House.
2021 Season Opening Letter
Dear Friends and Supporters of the African American Heritage House at Chautauqua Institution (AAHH),
Happy spring and welcome to the 2021 Assembly Season! Much has happened and much has been planned over the last year. The purpose of this communication is to summarize the past year and give you a preview of the upcoming year where we look forward to your continued engagement with our efforts.
The past year was dominated by major national and global events, such as the COVID-19 crisis; the murder, which sparked a global uprising, of George Floyd and others at the hands of police; a bitterly contested presidential election: and the physical and political fallout from all of these events!
In spite of these events, however, the relentless quest for social justice continued unabated and, in fact, intensified. With your support, we at the AAHH were able to present seven speakers on the new CHQ Assembly virtual platform. If you click on the programming tab of our website (www.AAHeritageHouse.org) you can find a list of the excellent speakers and the topics covered.
Our activity has not been limited solely to producing a speaker series, however. Again, with your support, we were able to commission an archivist to research and develop the history of people of color at Chautauqua. From this will come future narratives which will be on display in our “House”. We also continued our work locating and planning for the celebration of the Phillis Wheatley House, a structure which played a significant role in the lives of African Americans at Chautauqua.
During the 2020 season, in concert with the Institution, we jointly launched the Mirror Project (www.CHQ.org/Mirror) designed to engage the community in a discussion of the impacts of racism both at Chautauqua and beyond. This was followed by the monthly Mirror Project book discussion where we engaged people from around the country in discussing books reflecting social justice themes. The book discussions have been paused for the Assembly Season but will resume again in the fall.
For the 2021 Season, we will again be on the virtual platform presenting nine speakers who will speak to the theme of the week with a focus on the perspective of people of color. Not only will we present nine speakers on the virtual platform, we will also jointly sponsor, with the Institution, an in-person speaker on the main stage. We also hope to host, consistent with NY State and CDC guidelines, weekly “Sunday porch chats” on the Institution’s grounds either in a park or in one of the open venue structures.
As with all years, there will be unforeseen challenges during the year, but we will address them and overcome them. Because of our many friends and supporters, our footprint and our impact continues to grow. The virtual platform has also given us the opportunity to expand our presence to a national, and even international, audience.
Do share our pride in what we have accomplished. But, more importantly, continue to join us on the quest to create a more perfect and more just society. Without your continued support, our goals will remain just beyond our reach.
With warmest regards and best wishes for a happy, healthy, productive and socially just 2021.
Erroll B. Davis President African American Heritage House
