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LAKE PLACID – The Lake Placid Center for the Arts is offering an online course this fall that will explore black culture through words, artwork and music created by black people. The four-part series, “Black stories” starts October 7.
Janelle Gray, a professor at the University of Texas and a Harvard graduate, will lead the course through multimedia material – literature by Toni Morrison, music by Nina Simone, and TV shows like “Blackish” are some of the resources Gray plans to use to guide participants as they learn about black stories. The class will explore the historical and political context of these stories, their messages, why they are important and their impact on communities.
LPCA director James Lemons said when the center began to consider creating a course “Who uses arts and culture to explore what makes us as humans so incredibly different and exceptionally similar” he immediately thought of Gray. He met her over 15 years ago, while working with Gray’s mother Denise on a number of theater projects in Dallas, Texas. Even though Gray was in college when Lemons met her, he said she made a lasting impression.
“Even then, I was so impressed with Janelle’s curiosity, her ability to communicate and explain complex thoughts in an accessible manner, and her desire to share what she learned with others.†he wrote in an email Friday.
Tara Palen, director of education and outreach for LPCA, said the center is keen to bring this talent and perspective to the Lake Placid community.
“We reached out to her to help us create a course that would help us respond to the desire for more understanding and diversity in our region, to help us explore and adopt stories outside of our norm – using the ‘art as a vehicle “, she wrote in an email on Friday.
In a press release, LPCA encouraged residents and organizations from across the community to participate in the course. Online courses will be accessible worldwide.
Nicky Hylton-Patterson, director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative and teacher at Clarkson University, said she plans to enroll Clarkson students in her Introductory Sexualities course in the Black Narratives series.
“This course offers students the opportunity to interact with knowledge sites on black cultural expressions. “ she said. “With Black Narratives, Gray brings black culture to life in a way that exhibits the pain, anger, pride and beauty inherent in black America.”
Palen said if the course is successful, the LPCA hopes to continue offering cultural education classes.
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Registration for series and scholarships
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Scholarship opportunities are available for anyone who wants to participate in the series, but finds the $ 62 entry fee a hindrance. Palen responds to scholarship applications for the course, and she said in an email Wednesday that there is no deadline to apply for the scholarships and that there is no limit to the scholarships that the LPCA is ready to give.
“We want to make the scholarships for this class as accessible as possible to those interested and remove any embarrassments or obstacles that would prevent them from applying”, she wrote.
Anyone interested in participating can email Palen at [email protected] anytime before the first day of class on October 7th. 518-523-2512.
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