The Will to Adorn:
African American Diversity, Style, and Identity
This program is produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The program is supported by Smithsonian Institution funds from the Youth Access Grants Program, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and other Smithsonian fund sources. It is also supported by AARP. Major in-kind support is from the Smithsonian Office of Mobile Technology, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of African Art, the Center for Aesthetic Modernism, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Bowie State University, Frank McClarin High School, University of the District of Columbia, University of Michigan, University of California—Los Angeles, Michigan State University, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, and Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center. Research for the program is funded by the Craft Research Fund, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Smithsonian Scholarly Studies, Smithsonian Institution Consortium for Understanding the American Experience and Consortium for World Cultures, and the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts.
SPECIAL THANKS
Individuals:
Juanita Britton
Claudine Brown
LeShawn Burrell-Jones
Johnnetta Cole
Shukuru Copeland
Marilyn Davy
James and Miriam Early
Dwayne Deterville
David Dombrosky
Karen Garrett
Robert Hagans
Maretta Helmley-Wood
Allison Hamilton
Jessica Harris
Rufus Isley
Sheryl Jackson
Vashti Joseph
Kimberly Kelley
Madaha Kinsey-Lamb
Jeanine Jeo Kim
Donna Limerick
Evelyn Orantes
Queen Nur
Elliot Parris
Basil Pollard
Deborah Smith Pollard
Nancy Proctor
James Robinson
Brigitte Foachette Tapp
Gabrielle Tayac
Daryl White
Smithsonian Institution
Anacostia Community Museum
Center for Learning and Digital Access
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education and Access
National Museum of African Art
Organizations
America’s Islamic Heritage Museum
Atlanta University Center
Carnegie Mellon University
Center for Aesthetic Modernism
Earthen Vessels Foundation
The East Rock Institute
Goucher College, Masters of Arts in Cultural Sustainability
Michigan State University
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center
Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center
Spelman College
Virgin Islands Council on the Arts
Program Curator: Diana Baird N’Diaye
Curatorial Team: Olivia Cadaval, Elaine Nichols, Debora Mack
Program Coordinator: Sally A. Van de Water
Program Assistant: Shyra Peyton
Lead Volunteer: Aza Issifu, Christine Dickinson
Presenters: Kimberly Brown, Camila Bryce LaPorte, James Early, Allison J. Hamilton
Elaine Nichols, Mark Puryear, Gwendolyn Robinson, Olivia Smith-Elnaggar, Gabrielle Tayac, Patricia Turner, Derrick WashingtonBrochure/Logo Designer: Lisette Baylor
Will to Adorn App Designer: Halsey Burgund
App Development Researcher: Dorie Phillips
Social Media Coordinator: Dianne Greene
Interns: Lisette Baylor, Gabriella Bellegarde, Leigh Bercaw, Anne Carty, Niyate Dave, Christine Dickinson, Dana Elliot, Katherine Hockey, Aza Issifu, Anwar Jackson, Shavondria Jackson, Mahsa Javid, Ashley Matthews, Nina Otchere-Odura, Kavitha Ramachandra, Jasmine Reid, Anastacia Scott, Madeleine Sheinfeld, Charmelle D. Spatcher, Malik Stevenson, Sina Wohlgemuth
Fellows: Camee Maddox, Derrick Washington
Atlanta Researchers: Maurita Poole and Spelman College students, Debra Robinson and McClarin High School Video Production Program
Baltimore Researcher: Althea Grey McKenzie
Chicago Researcher: Gwendolyn Robinson
Detroit Researcher: Simone Forde, Deborah Smith Pollard
New Orleans Researchers: Diana Briggs, Malik Stevenson
New York City Researchers: Jade D. Banks, Madaha Kinsey Lamb, and students of the Beverly J. Robinson Folk Culture Program, Mind Builders Creative Arts Center, Inc.
Oakland Researcher: Shukuru Sanders
Washington, D.C., Researcher: Harold Anderson and students at Bowie State University and Goucher College, Camila Bryce-Laporte and students, Katherine Hockey, Mark Puryear, James Robinson
U.S. Virgin Islands Researchers: Sally A. Van de Water, Januwa Moja; Jade D. Banks, Betty Mahoney
Communities of Faith Researchers: Camila Bryce LaPorte, Olivia Smith-Elnaggar, Deborah Smith Pollard
Native/African American Communities Researchers: Rachel Delgado-Simmons, Gabrielle Tayac
On-Line Communities of Style Researcher: Keisha Martin
Advisors: Harold Anderson, Bowie State University and Goucher College; Mary Jo Arnoldi, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; Jade D. Banks, Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center; Rachel Delgado-Simmons, CFCH; Tina Dunkley, Atlanta University Center; James Early, CFCH; Jessica Harris, Independent Scholar; Monte Oyd Harris, M.D., Center for Aesthetic Modernism; Christine Kreamer, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art; Marsha MacDowell, Michigan State University; Maurita Poole, Spelman College; Mark Puryear, Bowie State University; Deborah Richardson, Smithsonian National Museum of American History; Gwendolyn K. Robinson, University of Maryland; Pamela Rogers, CFCH; Nicole Shivers, National Museum of African Art; Pravina Shukla, Indiana University; Deborah Smith-Pollard, University of Michigan, Dearborn; Gabrielle Tayac, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian; Patricia Turner, UCLA; Mary Arnold Twining Baird and students at Clark-Atlanta University; Deborah Willis, New School for Social Research
