FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2007 

CELEBRATE THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN DC WITH HISTORIC SITES,
A HIP-HOP EXHIBITION, AUGUST WILSON AND MORE 

Black History Month is fast approaching, as is the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. But January and February aren't the only times that African-American history is recognized in the District. The spirit is alive and well all-year-round, and is embodied by DC's many black church and community leaders, politicians and business-owners, who encourage DC residents and visitors to pay homage to those black leaders that led the way from a troubled past to a bigger and brighter future. Here are a few ways that you can take part in the African-American experience in DC:

• Visit New Markers on Cultural Tourism DC's African American Heritage Trail - Since Howard University’s establishment in 1867, history has continually been made on its campus, famous for producing such bright stars and brilliant minds as Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Thurgood Marshall, Vernon Jordon and Debbie Allen.
  
• Now, the historical significance of the university is being honored in a new way. Cultural Tourism DC recently designated the campus’ Founders Library as one of the more than 200 sites comprising, African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC, a program which highlights sites that represent important moments in DC’s – and the nation’s – black history. All 200 sites can be accessed at CulturalTourismDC.org, but 35 selected sites throughout the city are now marked with commemorative plaques, including five sites on Howard’s campus. Markers are also planned for local institutions like Ben’s Chili Bowl, the Seafarers Yacht Club, Military Road School and the Nannie Helen Burroughs School.
  
• The Kennedy Center's August Wilson Tribute: Before his untimely death from cancer in 2005, playwright August Wilson transformed American theatre with his poignant illustrations of the joys and struggles of African-American life throughout the twentieth century. To honor his legacy, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will mount a special tribute to the renowned playwright featuring Wilson's African-American cycle: a ten-play series set in each decade of the twentieth century in his hometown, Pittsburgh. Directed by Kenny Leon, who staged the Broadway premiere of Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean," August Wilson's 20th Century Festival will be the first of its kind to present all ten plays in a condensed package. The plays will be presented chronologically in the order in which they're set, beginning with "Gem of the Ocean" and ending with the 1990s "Radio Golf." 
  
  Each of the plays will be presented in repertory fashion by a core ensemble of twenty actors, giving the ten inter-related plays the same voices and faces and enabling audiences to see as many as three of the plays in a single weekend. Stars include notable names from the stage and screen: Anthony Chisholm, Lynda Gravatt, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Eugene Lee, and Phylicia Rashad.
  
• A History-Making Hip-Hop Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery: Since the 1970s, when the phenomenon began, hip-hop has been arguably the most influential and popular musical form in America. Its popularity has extended beyond the urban centers where it was born and into youth culture throughout the world. The National Portrait Gallery has taken notice, and will be featuring the work of artists who have explored hip-hop culture, and the personalities that have helped it thrive in an exhibition entitled, RECOGNIZE! Hip-Hop and Contemporary Portraiture.
  
  On display Feb. 8 - Oct. 26, the exhibition will feature the work of David Scheinbaum, who has been photographing hip-hop artists like Public Enemy, Phar Cyde, De La Soul and Jurassic-5 since 2000 both in concert and off-stage. Kehinde Wiley, best known for his large, colorful paintings of anonymous young black men, has created portraits of hip-hop artists such as L.L. Cool J and Ice T, which will also be on display. Each portrait is based on a famous European or American painting from the 17th through 19th centuries. A poem by famous poet Nikki Giovanni will be transcribed onto walls in the exhibition by artist Shinique Smith, and the hallway that connects the galleries will be adorned with four "portrait" murals, designed by two DC-based graffiti artists.
  
  And while checking out the National Portrait Gallery, make sure to stop by Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits, an exhibition on display through March 2 that draws its name from the words of abolitionist and clergyman Henry Highland Garnet. It features photographs from the NPG’s collection which illuminate the variety of ways that African-Americans resisted and redefined an America that needed but rarely accepted its black citizens. Subjects include Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois and Winton Marsalis, among others.
  
• African-American events, meetings & conventions: It’s also a significant year for major African-American meetings, conventions and events in the nation’s capital. On January 12, BET will kick off the year by holding its star-studded Honors Awards at DC’s Warner Theatre.
  
  Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority celebrates its 100th anniversary by holding its Biennial Boule in DC July 12-18. The prestigious sorority traces its roots to DC’s Howard University and claims more than 200,000 members throughout the world. More than 10,000 members are expected at the 2008 Boule.
  
  The National Black MBA Association will also hold a major meeting in DC in 2008, drawing 15,000 members to DC for its Annual Conference, Sep. 17-20. The following week, Sep. 24-27, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference will take center stage in the nation’s capital, drawing thousands of delegates and notables.

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About Destination DC: Destination DC, the lead destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization of more than 1,000 businesses committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities. Destinationdc.com