AFRICATOWN- Mobile ,Alabama

 This year's Family Reunion took place in Mobile, AL.  It was my hope to see Africatown. I attended a screening and panel discussion at The Jazz Hall of Fame sometime ago.  It had me wanting to view this hidden gem of a page in American history in person.   

What is Africatown? A group of Africans were illegally transported  to the U.S. on the ship, Clotilda in 1860 long after slavery had been banned in 1808.  In an effort to hide their crime slave owners tried to burn the Clotilda. Africatown was formed by survivors and their descendants. 

Replica Souvenirs

Bioswales are channels designed to concentrate and convey stormwater runoff while removing debris and pollution. Bioswales can also be beneficial in recharging groundwater.
copied from Wikipedia

March 21, 1883, a group of Christian leaders from the Plateau community organized a Baptist Church known at that time as Three Mile Creek Baptist Church, under the leadership of Reverend Frank Peterson.  Years later, the church name was changed to New Hope Baptist Church, then later to Yorktown Baptist Church.    copied from Yorktown Missionary Baptist Church – The Friendly Church With a Welcome For All.

Barbie Turns 60

If you’re expecting a large exhibit of Barbie dolls you’ll be very disappointed. THERE WERE NO BARBIE DOLLS IN THE EXHIBIT.

EXCERPT     “Barbie: Dreaming of a Female Future takes a critical look at Barbie on the occasion of her 60th anniversary. In the past six decades, Barbie’s many careers and enduring independence have influenced the dreams and imaginations of young people around the world. At the same time, her impossible appearance and physique promoted narrow and unattainable body ideals. This exhibition offers an immersive experience where visitors can explore their relationship with Barbie through a reimagined, modern dream house.”

Opinions are yours. Everybody has one or more. 

(I've highlighted the areas of the museum's description in the excerpt above to correspond to my opinions below of the presentation.)

For me the display was just that...a depiction of  Barbie’s Dream House . I saw nothing representing Barbie’s many careers and how it has "influenced the dreams and imaginations...".  There have been many careers/themes of Barbie over the years. According to Mattel she has had over 200.   In actuality it was the same doll wearing a new costume with additional costumes and props to fit the theme. 

At this exhibit I  saw no careers displayed.  I found most of it to be a smorgasbord of various artists giving their rendition of the  Barbie Dream House with it's shallowness and girliness  lumping it all in the gallery.

Panoramic view

Naturally children wanted to touch. Visitors could touch anything except pictures on the wall.

Everything on this table was glued down.

There were short films of  unusual Barbies and Kens in various  situations 

mostly unflattering. One showed Barbie asleep in the car with her mouth

open, showing all of her teeth, snoring. Meanwhile Ken is driving and  isn't pleased

with how the date is going.   The real Barbie shows only her top teeth when she smiles.

I found this wallpaper interesting. This is a closeup of it from the above picture.

Dressing table 

Glitter chair and mirror frame made from  recycled plastic

There was a  Scavenger Hunt sheet available if you wanted to find the items listed in the pictures. I did.

Barbie's physique has been a topic of discussion . It's felt that the doll gives young girls the idea that they should strive to look the same.  Bombarded by social media, magazines, pop stars and the like have made some youngsters feel inadequate and question their self worth. Positive role models of all shapes, sizes, colors and reassurance that everyone is different is necessary for young people in today's world.

At age 60 Barbie might possibly look like this.

And it's okay. True friends love you no matter what.

That's it***

Kansas City, Missouri part 2

K.C. Missouri
         Just the Pictures Folks. If you want to know details, click on the links.

Kaufman Memorial Garden

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY displays inside the museum. Lincoln School

Kansas City Chiefs stadium

Thomas Hart Benton mural over archway in Truman Library

Helzberg Hall     inside Kaufman Performing Arts Center

Atrium of the Kaufman Performing Arts Center

Muriel Kaufman theater inside the Kaufman Performing Arts Center

Muriel Kaufman Theater

Lunch at Rozzelle Court inside Nelson-Atkins Museum.

That's it ***

Kansas City, Missouri part 1

 Kansas City, Missouri

This is my second time traveling with Road Scholar. What attracts me to their tours is so much of it is all inclusive. Food, lodging, gratuities, and fees for lectures, guides and sight visitations. I only needed to arrange travel to get there and get back.

 I'm only listing some of the activities not all. I enjoy knowing the agenda has been planned and I only need to turn up. The event began Sunday, April 17, 2016.

Here's Monday's schedule
Breakfast
Civil War Presentation with Randy Mullis
Winstead's Restaurant
Blue Ribbon Guide Walking Tour
Truman Presentation with Ray Starzman
Dinner @ hotel
Jazz Lecture- David Basse

I was still jet lagged and so after breakfast I went back to my room and didn't reappear until it was time for the jazz lecture. I bought one of David Basse's CDs and I have been playing it repeatedly since I've returned home.

Union Station

KC BBQ
There's been a rivalry between Bryant's and Gates as to who has the best bbq. The rivalry began between the two when one of Bryant's close business partners took his secrets to Gates and began working for the competition. Both men have since passed on but the businesses continue.


BBQ was good at both places. 
We had ribs, sausage without a casing and slaw at Bryant's. The slaw was sweet and salty. Delicious.

Arthur Bryant

 











Gates served us ribs,baked beans, smoked turkey, sausage and burnt ends. Both Bryant and Gates are known for their burnt ends. It's a chewy smoked part of the beef that's absolutely delectable. They are the only two places that really serve it. Others may profess to have burnt ends but they're not the real thing.

 Gates is still family owned and has multiple locations. They own quite a bit of the property in the location of their original store. One building is used to manufacture their own bbq sauce.

SAUCE FACTORY

AMERICAN JAZZ  and  NEGRO BASEBALL MUSEUM
Two hour  Black History bus tour with Eric Stafford Black history historian. This man was a wealth of information. I wanted to hear and see even more after the tour. 

 

 

End Part 1