Tag: civil rights

Moments That Made US exhibit in Coronado.

Moments That Made US. That’s the title of a special exhibition now at the Coronado Historical Association museum.

The word US is capitalized for a reason. On this 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, US can stand for both us and the U.S. Unique moments in history help to explain our present-day life.

The exhibition concerns a variety of past events in the United States and Coronado. They are often tied together.

History tends to be created through turbulence. A new country’s revolution and its founding documents, the Mexican-American War, gold rushes, voting rights with the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, World War II…

Moments That Made US also includes history of the Hotel del Coronado, North Island as the birthplace of naval aviation, the ferry, notable residents…

All of these pieces of history–large and small–have helped make us what we are today.

My favorite part of the exhibition is a silent video loop showing footage of Coronado’s traditional Independence Day parades in the mid 1950s to early 1970s.

There are marching bands, patriotic floats–everything you’d expect on the Fourth of July. Every year: enthusiasm and an appreciation of liberty, but evolving uniquely over the years.

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Histories of the Black Pacific at Maritime Museum.

Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific is an extensive exhibition that recently opened at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Spread over two levels of the museum’s steam ferry Berkeley, the exhibit celebrates 500 years of Black Mariner legacies in whaling, fishing, surfing, swimming, sailing, exploration, and defense shaping the U.S. Pacific.

Historical photographs and nautical artifacts transport visitors from the earliest African maritime traditions right up to the present day. The exhibition has been created with the help of UC San Diego curator Dr. Caroline Collins, so every aspect of Black history in connection with the Pacific Ocean is thoroughly covered.

You will learn about history that is too often overlooked.

Did you know that Juan Garrido, an Afro-Spanish conquistador, was the first documented Black person in what is now the United States? Or that by the mid-19th century, men of color made up to 30 percent of whalers? Or that African American blacksmith and abolitionist Lewis Temple invented an improved harpooning instrument called the Temple toggle iron? Or that thousands of African American women worked in the Pacific shipyards during World War II? Or that in 1942, Captain Hugh Mulzac became the first African American merchant marine naval officer to command an integrated crew during the war?

You’ll learn all this and much more when you visit Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific.

In addition, with your general admission ticket, you get to explore all of the historic ships of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, including world-famous Star of India!

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Juneteenth Art Project at San Diego library.

On the Eighth Floor of the Central Library in downtown San Diego, the public can contribute to the Juneteenth Art Project!

A large tabletop covered with paper welcomes creative people. Everyone is encouraged to sketch or draw positive images or messages inspired by Juneteenth, which is coming up later this month.

Here is some of what I observed this afternoon…

A seat for Rosa Parks on the trolley!

Today, February 4th, is the birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is honoring her heroism by reserving a seat for her on every bus and trolley!

MTS has been doing this for years.

Back in 2022, also on February 4th, I photographed a seat on a bus that was reserved for Rosa Parks. Today, I found a seat on a San Diego Trolley just for her!

Of course, I had to take a photo.

The legacy of a courageous citizen lives on. This sign on a trolley seat is a small but important reminder that one individual with a single act of courage can change the world.

The Economy of the Absurd at Museum of Us!

A sculpture was recently installed at the Museum of Us in Balboa Park. You can see the new artwork when crossing the Cabrillo Bridge, about to enter the west archway of the California Quadrangle. Look up toward the second floor’s outdoor balcony!

The sculpture is titled The Economy of the Absurd. It was created by Marcos Ramírez ERRE, an artist from the Tijuana and San Diego region who has created large-scale public works since the 1990s. It’s part of the newly opened Museum of Us exhibition Race: Power, Resistance & Change.

The museum’s About the Exhibit page explains: The exhibition Race: Power, Resistance & Change shares stories of how the construction of race has shaped laws, institutions, and daily life in San Diego and the broader multinational region.

As a plaque on the balcony near The Economy of the Absurd explains: This sculpture is composed of hand tools, assembled into a rising form within a steel frame that resembles the local U.S. Mexico border wall.

A number of other plaques are also located on the balcony, including one featuring the poem Refund by past San Diego Poet Laureate Paola Capó-Garcia. It is all part of the overall exhibition.

When I spied the new sculpture yesterday while walking through Balboa Park, I had to go check it out!

Here I am proceeding out onto the Museum of Us balcony…

(Photographs of views from the balcony before installation of this exhibit can be found by clicking here.)

Visitors are encouraged to contribute to a digital map. The map is of cultural centers and programs across San Diego’s diverse communities. You can participate by clicking here!

Imagine my excitement when I found that one of the plaques, concerning the public mural in Lemon Grove of the “Lemon Grove Incident,” features two photographs that I took for Cool San Diego Sights and a mention of my website!

Finally, here’s the short poem Refund…

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History Center exhibit: San Diego’s Lost Neighborhoods.

A new exhibition recently opened at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. San Diego’s Lost Neighborhoods takes a look at African-American communities that have been substantially altered, injured, or uprooted by practices such as redlining or urban development over the years.

San Diego’s Lost Neighborhoods is made possible with the help of the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art (SDAAMFA).

Communities from Downtown to City Heights to La Jolla . . . and even to Julian in our local mountains have painful stories to tell. These stories can be understood through many old photographs, the words of residents affected by racial discrimination, and by viewing historical maps of affected neighborhoods.

Visitors to the exhibit could and should spend a good while taking it all in.

Yes, change over time constitutes history–but change too often has been self-serving, mean-spirited or unnecessarily destructive.

May we all be kind. Hopefully we learn from the past.

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Students win statewide contest for Lemon Grove video!

During my recent visit to the Lemon Grove Historical Society’s newly renovated headquarters–the Parsonage Museum–I learned something extraordinary. Last year two high school students who attend Canyon Crest Academy, Sarah and William Gao, won a statewide contest for their outstanding video concerning the Lemon Grove Incident.

The contest had the theme Turning Points in History.

Their extremely well done documentary concerns the fight that led up to the landmark court order in 1931 that ended school segregation in Lemon Grove. View their excellent video on YouTube by clicking here.

This is such a great achievement that I thought it deserved additional recognition. Their video concerns history that everyone should know. Let’s run up the views, comments and likes on YouTube and give their video more traction!

The Lemon Grove Incident was the United States’ first successful school desegregation case. It was a pivotal event in our nation’s history. For the longest time I myself hadn’t known that.

Back in 2022 I took photographs of a mural in Lemon Grove that celebrates the Lemon Grove Incident and those who courageously fought for the victory against segregation. My first photograph above shows part of the mural. See the other photos here!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Negro Leagues baseball exhibit opens in San Diego!

An extraordinary exhibit concerning the history of baseball’s Negro Leagues officially opens tomorrow, April 15, 2025, in San Diego!

Extensive displays celebrating African-American baseball players who helped lead the way to a more integrated and tolerant society can now be enjoyed on the 8th Floor Reading Room of the Central Library. The exhibit is titled Barrier Breakers.

Visitors to the Central Library are in for a treat. The epic exhibition is brought to our city by the San Diego Padres and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

There are biographies of athletes who competed in the Negro Leagues–complete with stats, accomplishments, photographs and memories. There are stories of how trailblazing players were eventually accepted by Major League Baseball. Different eras are represented, and key moments are remembered.

As one might expect, Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball, has a special place in the exhibit. It’s no coincidence that tomorrow, the day Breaking Barriers opens, is Jackie Robinson Day. Jackie made history by starting at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

Another display celebrates the San Diego Padres’ own trailblazer, hometown hero catcher Johnny Ritchey. He made Pacific Coast League history when he joined the team in 1948. (He had seven hits in his first eleven plate appearances!)

Anyone who is a baseball, sports or history buff needs to check out Barrier Breakers. I just happened to swing by the Central Library today, and was super fortunate to observe a special preview presentation.

If you can’t make it to San Diego’s downtown Central Library, you can view an online virtual exhibit by clicking here.

Just a few photos…

During today’s special presentation, Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, presented The Home Run for Humanity Award to worthy recipients in San Diego. Congrats to all!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Take a free Balboa Park Women’s History Tour!

There’s a special once-a-month free tour in Balboa Park that I learned about today. The Balboa Park Women’s History Tour commemorates the women who’ve contributed to Balboa Park and San Diego history.

The inspiring tour begins every 3rd Saturday by the Bea Evenson Fountain (between the San Diego Natural History Museum and Fleet Science Center) at 10 am. The walking tour lasts for one hour.

I’ll have to take this tour at some point in the future!

What I’ve found out is the Balboa Park Women’s History Tour is presented by Forever Balboa Park. The historical substance is provided by the Women’s Museum of California, which makes its home inside the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park’s Casa de Balboa.

Learn more about the tour by clicking here!

You might remember how years ago the Women’s Museum of California made its home at Liberty Station in Point Loma. Well, soon they will have their own permanent gallery inside the San Diego History Center! Their first exhibit will concern Women in STEM. Watch for it!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Fine sculptures at the Valencia Park Library.

Seven very fine sculptures, each belonging to the San Diego Civic Art Collection, are located inside the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library. I discovered them last weekend when I visited the library to experience a Black History Month event.

The bronze sculptures, most of them gilded and painted, were all created by Ed Dwight, an artist who resides in Denver, Colorado. The largest work, depicting Malcolm X, stands near the center of the library.

The other half dozen sculptures honor legendary American jazz musicians. They are displayed in cases inside the library’s community room. Their titles are: Eubie’s Boogie, Jazz Guitar, Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, and Miles Davis.

The artist has a remarkable and rather unexpected background! As search results from the San Diego Civic Art website explain:

Dwight was the first African American to be trained as an astronaut. Dwight began his career as an artist after many years working in various fields including the military, engineering, and real estate. His first important commission was a sculpture of Colorado’s first black Lieutenant Governor, George Brown, in 1974. Since then, he has been prolific in creating homages to the most significant contributions of black culture to American history. His work has focused on the history of jazz and its significant figures, as well as civil rights activists and African American pioneers…

It was difficult taking good photographs with reflections on the glass cases creating interference. I encourage everyone to check out the above link and see good images of all seven sculptures, or, better yet, head over to the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library and begin your own exploration!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share this!