“Dark Testament” Opening Reception Recap

A night of celebration

On September 24th this year the American Writers Museum was excited to host the opening night celebration for the museum’s newest exhibit, Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice. It was an amazing night with a great assortment of guests, from members of the advisory team to the artists who created the amazing original works, and a special appearance and talk from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones.

The artists and their works

Featured in the exhibit are 16 amazing original portraits of 16 of the most influential writers from the century that spans the Civil War to the Civil Rights Era of the 60s. For the first time the artists who made these amazing works were together and able to see their work on display, as well as the augmented reality components that bring each portrait to life. Artists Bernard Williams, Damon Reed, Dorian Sylvain, and Dorothy Irene Burge were all there to celebrate.

The curatorial team

The content of Dark Testament was pulled together by an amazing group of scholars and writers, many of whom were able to join us for the evening, to see the visualization of their work. Thank you to the following for your help on this exhibit!

• Dr. Keidrick Roy, Lead Curator – Harvard University
• Ivy Wilson, PhD – Northwestern University
• Megan Finch, PhD – University of Minnesota
• Michael Sawyer – University of Pittsburgh
• Col. Candice Pipes – United States Air Force
• Natalie Y. Moore – Journalist
• Nate Marshall – Poet
• Glory Edim – Writer & Editor
• Myiti Sengstacke-Rice – Educator, Publisher, & Community Activist

In the video below, Dr. Roy delivers the opening remarks at the Dark Testament reception event.

Special Guest Speaker Nikole Hannah-Jones

As a highlight of the evening, renowned journalist and commentator Nikole Hannah-Jones was part of the evening celebration. She spent a great deal of time in the exhibit visiting with the artists, curators and guests. And then she helped make the evening special with her eloquent remarks on the incredible significance of these writers and their works, and their continuing relevance to the issues still being faced today.

All told it was an amazing night and we were excited to have such a wonderful group of people all together who were essential to bringing this exhibit to life, either through their work or their support.

Dark Testament Sponsors

Lead Sponsors

Partner Sponsors

Guild Sponsors