Sharing and Archiving the Creative Life of Black People

“Bringing the Town and Gown Together!”

An In Black Ink - Macalester College Partnership

Discussion Series

Session 2 - Panel Discussion

Sharing and Archiving the Creative Life of Black People: The Resistance, The Movement, and The Future.

For over 400 years Black/African people in North America have existed in a constant state of resistance. The U.S. wouldn’t be the dominant, wealthy, democratic nation it is without the many contributions through the blood, sweat, tears, and sheer brilliance of millions of African people. Despite this truth, many stories of those people have been and continue to be erased, changed, and omitted. How do we ensure the sharing and preserving of our history, heritage, and culture?

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025

Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Panelists:

Tsione Wolde-Michael, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH)

Tina Burnside, Co-founder & Curator of The Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery (MAAHMG)

Moderators: Rekhet Si-Asar, In Black Ink, and Seitu Jones, The Black Gate

Location:

Hallie Q. Brown Center

270 North Kent Street

St. Paul, MN 55103

Co-Hosts:

In Black Ink, Millions Artist Movement, Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery, Eastside Freedom Library, and The Black Gate are Twin Cities organizations that came together for over four years to reimagine community archiving collaborative practices. We have engaged in collective learning processes in which Tsione and others from across the nation have engaged with us.

Sponsor and Partner: Macalester College

This event is free and open to the public.

Refreshments will be provided.

Contact: [email protected] • (651) 231-6604

Panelists

Tsione Wolde-Michael Bio

Tsione Wolde-Michael is an experienced arts administrator, historian, curator, and thought leader with 15 years committed to merging public service and social justice. Her extensive work in the field of arts and public humanities has focused on developing innovative approaches to community engagement, collections management, cultural heritage stewardship, and exhibitions. She served as founding Director for the Center for Restorative History (CRH) at the National Museum of American History (NMAH) – the Smithsonian’s first center devoted exclusively to community-based redress. In addition to the center, Wolde-Michael established a new theory and methodology for community-engaged museum work through the lens of restorative justice and created the Smithsonian’s first-ever Tactical Plan for Decolonization of museum-wide collections and exhibitions as part of NMAH’s 2020-2030 strategic plan.

In 2022 Wolde-Michael was appointed as the Executive Director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) – a federal advisory commission charged with providing recommendations to the President of the United States on cultural policy. In this role Wolde-Michael has created opportunities to support and engage the nation’s artists, humanities scholars, and cultural heritage practitioners to promote excellence in the U.S. cultural sector.

Tina Burnside Bio

Tina Burnside is a civil rights attorney in Minneapolis practicing employment discrimination law. She is also the cofounder and curator of the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery (MAAHMG), where the organization’s mission is to preserve, document and celebrate Black history, art and culture. Tina curated the museum’s exhibit “Unbreakable” which won a 2020 Minnesota History Award from the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums. She also created the Artist-In-Residence and History Fellowship programs at the museum to provide career opportunities and financial support to Minnesota artists and local historians. She also created the museum’s Youth Curator Program to introduce teenagers to the curatorial process, and the Visionary Voices Program, which is a creative writing and spoken word workshop for youth.

Tina is a writer who has written a novel titled Have Mercy and several theater plays that have been produced in Minneapolis, Houston, Milwaukee and New Orleans. Her creative work explores issues of race, gender, social justice and history. Tina was a newspaper reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel for five years where she was the reporter who broke the story about the Jeffrey Dahmer murders. She has also had numerous articles published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, MinnPost, MNopedia and the Hennepin History Museum magazine. Tina has a BA degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota and a JD degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She was named a “Champions of Change” by Minnesota Monthly magazine in 2021.

Moderators

Seitu Jones

Seitu Jones is a multidisciplinary artist, advocate and maker based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Working between the arts and public spheres, Jones channels the spirit of radical social movements into experiences that foster critical conversations and nurture more just and vibrant communities from the soil up. He is recognized as a dynamic collaborator and a creative force for civic engagement. He is the Founder of The Black Gate, a living foundation to promote, preserve, and sustain the work of African American artists in Minnesota.

Rekhet Si-Asar,

Rekhet is the Executive Director of In Black Ink, a publishing arts non-profit organization. She was formerly a publisher at Papyrus Publishing Inc. and was a School Psychologist in the Minneapolis Public School District and a volunteer coordinator/instructor at the Imhotep Science Academy, a K-8 Cultural STEM Saturday program in Saint Paul. Rekhet received her MA in Child Development and Ed.S. in School Psychology at the University of Minnesota.

Host or Publisher In Black Ink