This Week: We The Peoples Before at the Kennedy Center, Baynard Woods’ book release at Red Emma’s, Men of Change: Power.Triumph.Truth exhibition panel discussion at the Lewis Museum, Cliff Banquet Presents: Burning Stone at the Charles, April Camlin’s last Wume show (for now) at the Ottobar, Form and Gesture: Impressions of Movement closes at Goucher’s Silber Gallery, AVAM’s July 4th Pet Parade + Talent Show, and the 6th Annual Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Festival — PLUS Creative Alliance call for Sidewalk Serenade performers and more featured opportunities.

BmoreArt’s Picks presents the best weekly art openings, events, and performances happening in Baltimore and surrounding areas. For a more comprehensive perspective, check the BmoreArt Calendar page, which includes ongoing exhibits and performances, and is updated on a daily basis.

To submit your calendar event, email us at events@bmoreart.com!

We The Peoples Before
Thursday, June 30 | Ongoing through July 2
@ The Kennedy Center

Join First Peoples Fund and the Kennedy Center in honoring Native cultures, sovereignty, history, and vitality.

We The Peoples Before is a four-day event featuring immersive performances, workshops, film screenings, cooking demonstrations, and in-depth discussions led by Native artists, storytellers, and tribal elders. These artists and culture bearers will be gathering at The Kennedy Center to bring to life the spirit of their communities.

We The Peoples Before speaks to the diversity of Nations, cultures, languages, philosophies, spiritual traditions, peoples, and practices rooted in land and territories that flourished across North America long before the founding of the United States and the U.S. Constitution.

Baynard Woods book release celebration: “Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness”
Thursday, June 30 • 7pm
@ Red Emma’s

Baynard Woods thought he had escaped the backwards ways of the South Carolina he grew up in, a world defined by country music, NASCAR, and the confederacy. He’d fled the South long ago, transforming himself into a politically left-leaning writer and educator.

Then he was accused of discriminating against a Black student at a local university. How could I be racist? he wondered. Whiteness was a problem, but it wasn’t really his problem. He taught at a majority Black school and wrote essays about education and Civil Rights.

But it was his problem. Working as a reporter, it became clear that white supremacy was tearing the country apart. When a white kid from his hometown massacred nine Black people in Charleston, Woods began to delve into his family’s history—and the ways that history has affected his own life.

When he discovered that his family—both the Baynards and the Woodses—collectively claimed ownership of more than 700 people in 1860, Woods realized his own name was a confederate monument. Along with his name, he had inherited privilege, wealth, and all the lies that his ancestors passed down through the generations.

In this gripping and perceptive memoir, Woods takes us along on his journey to understand how race has impacted his life. Unflinching and uninhibited, Inheritance explores what it means to reckon with whiteness in America today and what it might mean to begin to repair the past.
Baynard Woods is an award-winning writer and journalist based in Baltimore. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Oxford American Magazine, and many other publications. He is coauthor, with Brandon Soderberg, of I Got a Monster: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Corrupt Police Squad.

Racing Forward: Black Athletes, Activism & Justice – In Person
Thursday, June 30 • 6:30-9pm
@ Reginald F. Lewis Museum

From baseball player Jackie Robinson, to boxer Muhammad Ali, and football player Colin Kaepernick, Black athletes have historically leveraged their power to advocate for racial and social change. Join the Lewis Museum for a panel discussion with several sports analysts on how these and current Black athletes have taken on the mantle of activism to propel justice in their communities in spite of severe backlash. A cocktail reception and the opportunity to self- tour the Men of Change: Power.Triumph.Truth exhibition is included with this sports event.

Guest panelists include:

  • Veteran Journalist Keith Clinkscales and founder of TheShadowLeague.com. Clinkscales served eight years as a senior vice president at ESPN.
  • Award-winning sports columnist William C. “Bill” Rhoden and editor-at-large with Andscape, a Black media platform dedicated to creating, highlighting, and uplifting the diverse stories of Black identity.
  • Len Elmore a former ten-year professional basketball player with the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association. Elmore also served as a sports television announcer for ESPN, CBS Sports and Fox Sports/FS1 for 31 years.
  • Radio personality and former NFL football player Bart Scott of the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets.