In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we honor an exemplar of the highest ideals of our nation, a brave, just, and moral leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., z'l. 

May we all learn from and follow his example; to stay strong, focused, ethical, wise, and compassionate.

Black In The Day: Historic photographs of Black Arlington | FOHTA Gallery ®

This is the full set of pictures from the Arlington Photographic Documentary Project that were exhibited at the FOHTA® (From One Hand To Another) Gallery in historic Green Valley, Arlington, Virginia.

The exhibit is titled "Black In The Day." All pictures were made in the Halls Hill, Johnson Hill, and Green Valley traditionally African-American neighborhoods in 1980 as part of an NEA-funded documentary survey grant, in partnership with my colleague Paula Endo. The pictures from Green Valley were largely made possible through the help and guidance of the late civic activist John Robinson, that community's beloved unofficial mayor.

The opening was on May 5, 2024, and the show's run is through Juneteenth 2024.

Special thanks are due to Felicia McFail,  the gallery owner/director of FOHTA, for her vision, creativity, and for allowing me to share this work in such a meaningful way.

Dr. Muse- Green Valley Pharmacy

L to r: Rupert Baker, Robert Baker, Archie Pretty

John Robinson, Mrs. Moten

Katherine Bullock

Richard Walker

Homecoming King & Queen, W-L High School 1980

Felecia McFail & Lloyd Wolf. Photo by Gerald Martineau

Soul to Soul | African-American and Yiddish American experiences in music

Soul to Soul, a musical production of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbeine (NYTF), was recently on tour at the Reston Community Center. The program featured powerful music expressions from the Black and Jewish experiences, with Yiddish/klezmer melodies together with music from the civil rights era and the Black church. 

The musicians were Zalman Mlotek (זלמן נתן מלאָטעק) - keyboards and musical director,  Lisa Fishman - vocals, Brian Glassman - bass, Elmore James - vocals, Tony Perry - vocals, Daniella Rabbani - vocals, Matt Temkin -  percussion, and Dr. Zisl Slepovitch- clarinet, saxophone

Thank you to Reston Community Center's director, Paul Michnewicz, and his able staff for permission to photograph the concert, and for facilitating the process.