An exhibit exploring Black fatherhood is celebrating another weekend in the District.
The “Framing Fatherhood” exhibit, inside the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University, runs through July 31.
Associate Professor Imani Cheers came up with the idea for the exhibit after a conversation with her 6-year-old son. “He was asking a lot of questions about, who was George Floyd? Who was Ahmaud Arbery?” she said.
The exhibit, which includes 75 photos, aims to reshape the conversation about Black male masculinity and “reclaiming the narrative that Black men are not engaged in their children’s lives,” she said.
Visitors will also notice photos from Dr. Imani Cheers’ father, Dr. Michael Cheers.
“I had no problem dropping what I was doing in Paris, on June 17, and catching a plane to D.C. to support her,” said Dr. Michael Cheers.
The exhibit is part of larger research “into the holistic representation of Black men as boys, men friends, fathers and partners,” which is supported by a grant from the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics at The George Washington University.
That initiative is called “It Takes a Village,” and includes Cheers, Michael Babb, Reginald Cunningham, Autumn Archuleta and Bryce Lawson.
You can assist with that research, by completing a survey on the site, Boyhood2manhood.com.
