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JAY-Z to Appear at Brooklyn Museum

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In a rare interview, multi-platinum, 10-time Grammy Award-winning artist and icon JAY-Z will speak with Charlie Rose, executive editor and anchor of the Charlie Rose Show, before a live audience in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium at the Brooklyn Museum on Thursday, November 18, at 7 p.m. The conversation, which will be taped to air nationwide at a later date on the Charlie Rose program, will focus on JAY-Z’s book DECODED, to be published on November 16 by Spiegel & Grau, a Random House imprint. DECODED recounts JAY-Z’s life from his childhood in Brooklyn’s Marcy housing projects to becoming a world-famous performer and songwriter, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Tickets to the event will go on sale TODAY, Wednesday, November 10, at noon. They may be purchased online at www.museumtix.com (two-ticket purchase limit for this program) or at the Brooklyn Museum Visitor Center in person. Ticket prices are $50 for the general public, older adults, and students and $45 for Brooklyn Museum Members. Become a member at www.brookklynmuseum.org/support/membership_plans.php. Ticket price includes a copy of DECODED by JAY-Z that will be provided to the patron upon admission to the program the night of the event.

Printouts of tickets will not be accepted. Patrons must check in at the will-call desk (the night of the event) at the Brooklyn Museum to receive hard copies of their tickets and must provide ID matching the name on the ticket. There will be no standby line for this event.

Decoded Book Cover In his conversation with Charlie Rose, JAY-Z will speak candidly about his journey from drug dealing to becoming one of the best known hip-hop artists of his time. He will explore issues that informed him and his songwriting, including how visual art and poetry influenced his craft, how he became involved in politics and business, and how he managed to stay true to himself in the midst of extraordinary fame.

&#8220When I first started working on this book, I told my editor that I wanted to do three important things. The first was to make the case that hip-hop lyrics-not just my lyrics, but those of every great MC-are poetry, if you look at them closely enough. The second was that I wanted the book to tell a little bit of the story of my generation, to show the context for the choices we made at a violent and chaotic crossroads in recent history. And the third piece was that I wanted the book to show how hip-hop created a way to take a very specific and powerful experience and turn it into a story that everyone in the world could feel and relate to.&#8221&#8211JAY-Z from DECODED

VT: Native American Panel To Hold Meetings

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The group that will establish a process for state recognition of Native American tribes in Vermont is holding a series of public forums around the state.

The Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs will hold the first meeting at the Goodrich Memorial Library on Main Street in Newport on Tuesday, November 16 according to Giovanna Peebles, State Historic Preservation Officer and director of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.

Although the commission’s monthly meeting starts at 1:00 p.m., they have chosen to devote the noon hour to a less formal potluck to hear the needs and concerns of local Native people and answer questions, according to Chairman Luke Willard of Brownington. &#8220Different communities have different needs and interests,” Willard said. “We want to know what they are.”

The new commission, appointed by Governor Jim Douglas in September, is charged with executing a process for recognizing Native American Indian tribes in Vermont as called for in a Senate bill passed earlier this year. That legislation was introduced by the Senate Committee on General, Housing, and Military Affairs chaired by Senator Vince Illuzzi, who began working in the 1980s to obtain recognition for Native Americans in Vermont.

Willard said that he hopes educators will attend this meeting to learn about Title VII Indian Education, a federal program that could bring thousands of dollars into the school systems of Orleans County, and that this commission intends to focus on education and cultural awareness.

“I think they go hand in hand,” he said. “There are many Abenaki students in the schools of Orleans County but I think most are afraid to embrace and, in many cases, admit their own heritage because it could bring teasing from other students who are only taught a small piece of Abenaki history, and literally nothing about the contemporary Abenakis who sit at the desk right beside them.”

“This was a problem when I was a student and now I hear about it from my own children,” said Willard, a member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe in Orleans County.

November is National American Indian Heritage Month and Governor Douglas recently proclaimed the month of November as Native American Heritage Month in Vermont. The signing of this proclamation is the kickoff of events held around the state to honor the contributions and heritage of Native Americans.

To learn more, visit the VCNAA website.

The Lenape: Lower New York’s First Inhabitants

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This Saturday, November 13th, at 7:00 pm, Historic Huguenot Street will host another in its Second Saturday Lecture Series. David M. Oestreicher will combine archaeological and historical evidence with decades of firsthand ethnographic and linguistic research among present-day Lenape traditionalists, to arrive at a full picture of the Lenape from prehistory to the present. The presentation includes a slide program featuring native artifacts, maps, illustrations, and photographs, as well as images of contemporary Lenape who are among the last repositories of their culture. This lecture offers a unique opportunity to learn about lower New York’s original inhabitants, the Lenape &#8212- not the romanticized figures of popular mythology or new-age literature, but a living people as they really are.

Dr. David M. Oestreicher is recognized as a leading authority on the Lenape (Delaware), our region’s first inhabitants, having conducted linguistic and ethnographic research among the last tribal traditionalists for over 30 years. Oestreicher is curator of the award-winning traveling exhibition, In Search of the Lenape: The Delaware Indians, Past and Present, which critic William Zimmer in the New York Times described as &#8220an extended reverie,&#8221 capturing &#8220the vitality and poignancy of the Lenape saga.&#8221 Oestreicher’s writings have appeared in leading scholarly journals and books, and he completed the final portion of the late Herbert C. Kraft’s The Lenape-Delaware Indian Heritage: 10,000 B.C. &#8211 2000 A.D. &#8212- a tome subsequently hailed by scholars as the seminal work on the Lenape. Oestreicher’s monograph, &#8220The Munsee and Northern Unami Today&#8221 in The Archeology and Ethnohistory of the Lower Hudson Valley and Neighboring Regions (1991), marked the first ethnographic account of the Hudson River Lenape (now the Canadian Delaware) since the work of anthropologists M. R. Harrington (1908, 1913, 1921) and Frank G. Speck (1945).

Cost: $8 per person/$6 for Friends of Huguenot

Adirondack Anti-Slavery Convention Planned

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During &#8220Slavery in New York? Slavery Today?&#8221, a two-day Convention being held Friday, December 3rd and Saturday, December 4th, experts on contemporary slavery and human trafficking will be joined by scholars, historians, victims advocates, lawyers, investigative reporters, musicians, and the general public to examine slavery and trafficking in New York State and ways to end it. Events will take place around the Lake Placid area.

New Yorkers have long regarded slavery as a southern institution. However, the 1991 discovery of the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan offered irrefutable evidence that New York was a veritable slave society for hundreds of years. Recent research and fresh scholarship have begun to mine a long-buried history. As New Yorkers begin to remember and commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, examining the State’s dual legacy of slavery and freedom will shed new light on the complex narrative of our past.

Although largely erased from official history and collective memory, New York “promoted, prolonged and profited from” slavery from the 1620s through the 1850s. Slave labor was here at the start of New Netherland and it continued throughout the British colonial period with such intensity that at times during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, New York City had a larger slave population than any other city in North America.

Around the world today, slavery is still alive and well, generating billions of dollars along the supply chain of labor and products that make much of our daily lives possible. Though a crime in nearly every country, roughly 27 million people are enslaved worldwide today, including nearly 55,000 people in the United States. In the State Department’s 2010 report on human trafficking across the globe, the U.S. was identified as a “source, transit and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor, debt bondage, and forced prostitution.”

According to the Washington, D.C.-based Free the Slaves, slaves are found in nearly all 50 states, from farm fields and orchards to hotels, restaurants, private homes, factories, sweatshops, brothels, and construction sites. Immigrant populations, both documented and undocumented, are especially vulnerable, but native-born Americans are not immune to being enslaved and trafficked. New York, along with California, Florida and Texas, ranks among the states with the greatest incidence of documented slavery in the country.

PARTICIPANTS

* Chandra Bhatnagar, ACLU Human Rights Project Staff Attorney and counsel for 500 Indian men trafficked into the U.S. as “guestworkers”-

* John Bowe, award-winning investigative journalist and author of Nobodies: Modern American Slavery and the New Global Economy–

* Florrie Burke, Co-Chair of Freedom Network (USA), expert on the treatment of trafficking victims and one of the first social services respondents to Deaf Mexicans forced to sell trinkets on the New York City subway in the mid-1990s-

* Mia Nagawiecki and Betsy Gibbons, New York Historical Society-

* Renan Salgado, Farmworker Legal Services of New York-

* Ron Soodalter, author of Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader and co-author with Kevin Bales of The Slave Next Door–

* Tina M. Stanford, Executive Director, New York State Office of Victims Services-

* Dr. Margaret Washington, Professor of History at Cornell University and Sojourner Truth biographer-

* Dr. Sherrill Wilson, urban anthropologist at forefront of effort to research, interpret and protect the African Burial Ground discovered in Lower Manhattan-

* Duane Vaughn, Executive Director of Wait House, an emergency shelter in Glens Falls for youth ages 16-21- and

* Dr. J.W. Wiley, Director of the Center for Diversity, Pluralism & Inclusion, SUNY Plattsburgh.

SCHEDULE

December 3:

8 am-3 pm Educators Workshop at Heaven Hill Farm

7 pm-9 pm Slavery, Film & the Shaping of an American Conscience at Lake Placid Center for the Arts

December 4:

8 am-5 pm Anti-Slavery Convention at High Peaks Resort

5 pm-6 pm Wreath-laying Ceremony at John Brown Farm State Historic Site

9 pm-? Closing Reception at Northwoods Inn

&#8220Slavery in New York? Slavery Today?&#8221 is co-sponsored by the freedom education project John Brown Lives!, John Brown Coming Home, the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, the National Abolition Hall of Fame, and the Center for Diversity, Pluralism & Inclusion at SUNY Plattsburgh. Participants include:

A Celebration of William and Henry James

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The contributions of William and Henry James will be highlighted at a presentation entitled At the Gateway to Modernism: A Celebration of William and Henry James on Wednesday, Nov. 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University at Albany. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the Standish Room of the Science Library on the uptown campus.

Renowned author Henry James and his brother William, a psychology professor and philosopher, had many ties to the Albany area, according to Associate Professor of English Mary Valentis, who organized the event as director of the Center for Humanities, Arts, and TechnoScience (CHATS). &#8220Many of the James family relatives are buried in Albany Rural Cemetery,&#8221 she said. &#8220The father graduated from the Albany Academy, and the grandfather made his fortune in Albany real estate.&#8221 Henry James even opened his story, Portrait of a Lady , in a brownstone on Albany’s State Street.

The significant works and pivotal thought of the two brothers helped shape the 20th Century and more particularly the intellectual, artistic, and philosophical moment now called modernism.
Henry and William James

Author Henry James and his brother William, a psychology professor and philosopher.

The panel of experts celebrating the James family will include:

• Professor Ronald A. Bosco, Distinguished Professor of English and American Literature at UAlbany,

• Professor Linda Simon of Skidmore College, and

• Dean of UAlbany’s College of Arts and Sciences Edelgard Wulfert, professor of psychology.

The celebration will extend to the spring semester, when on March 4, 2011, Henry James on the Stage will be featured at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center. From 3 to 5 p.m. on that day, Dr. Barbara Blatner, Yeshiva University Workshop, will do an adaptation of Henry James’s short stories for poetry and stage. From 7 to 10 p.m. that same evening, there will be a staged reading of Larry Lane’s new play inspired by Henry James’s Aspern Papers. Playwright and director Lane adapted Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener for stage. After the reading, theater goers will have an opportunity to talk with Lane.

Photo: Author Henry James and his brother William, a psychology professor and philosopher.

Brooklyn Museum Offers Nov-Dec Adult Programs

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During November and December the Brooklyn Museum will present a variety of public programs for adults including a new series of Talks and Tours to take place on Thursdays at 7 p.m., as part of the Museum’s newly expanded hours, as well as performances by the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Brooklyn-based jazz pianist Randy Weston, a panel discussion about young women and feminism, and an artist talk with Fred Tomaselli.

PERFORMING ARTS & FILM

Music Off The Walls: Resonant Snapshots
Sunday, November 21, 2-4 p.m.
Concertmaster Deborah Buck and pianist Molly Morkowski present music by Scott Joplin, Charles Ives, and John Corigliano in conjunction with the special exhibition Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera. A related gallery talk precedes the program at 1 p.m. Tickets are $15- $10 for Members, students, and seniors. To purchase tickets, visit www.brooklynphilharmonic.org or call (718) 488-5913.

Music: Randy Weston Trio with Ayanda Clarke
Sunday, December 12, 3-5 p.m.
Pianist Randy Weston, bassist Alex Blake, and percussionist Neil Clarke are joined by soprano saxophonist T.K. Blue, tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, narrator Kim Weston Moran, and special guest percussionist Ayanda Clarke. Weston signs copies of his recently released autobiography, African Rhythms, after the concert. Tickets, which include Museum admission, are $15 and can be purchased at www.museumtix.com or in person at the Museum’s Visitor Center. The concert is co-presented by the Museum and the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) as part of BAC’s year-long initiative &#8220Black Brooklyn Renaissance: Black Arts & Culture, 1960-2010.&#8221

TALKS & TOURS

Tour: &#8220Seeing Power in Art&#8221 NEW
Thursday, November 11, 7 p.m.

Lecture: Fred Tomaselli
Friday, November 12, 2 p.m. The artist shares insights about his working process and exhibition.

Panel Discussion: &#8220The Art of Activism: Women Civil Rights Veterans Tell Their Stories&#8221
Sunday, November 14, 2 p.m.
A panel made up of the editors of Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC discusses the book. Feminist historian Debra Schultz moderates. A book signing follows.

Conversation and Book Signing: The Four Fingers of Death by Rick Moody
Saturday, November 20, 3 p.m.
Moody discusses his new novel with artist Fred Tomaselli. A book signing follows.

Tour: Chief Curator’s Pick NEW
Thursday, Dec 2, 7 p.m.
Chief Curator Kevin Stayton chooses and discusses objects from the collection.

Tour: &#8220Seeing Two Dutch Houses&#8221 NEW
Thursday, December 2, 7 p.m.

Tour: &#8220Seeing Brooklyn’s Masterpieces&#8221 NEW
Thursday, December 9, 7 p.m.

Panel Discussion: Young Women and Feminism
Saturday, December 11, 2 p.m.
Courtney Martin, co-editor of the anthology Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists, leads a panel of young women in a discussion of how they discovered feminism.

Tour: &#8220Seeing Royal Benin Bronzes&#8221 NEW
Thursday, December 16, 7 p.m.

Tour: &#8220Seeing 4,000 years of Japanese Ceramics&#8221 NEW
Thursday, December 23, 7 p.m.

Tour: &#8220Seeing Water&#8221 NEW
Thursday, December 30, 7 p.m.

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

Creative Art Making: Soft Sculpture
Saturday, November 20, 2 p.m. The Girlie Show leads a workshop for adults on how to create a soft sculpturel using pop culture images of women. There is a $15 materials fee, and registration is required. Register at www.museumtix.com or at the Museum’s Visitor Center. A limited number of free tickets are reserved for Museum Members on a first-come, first-served basis. Members should call (718) 501-6326 for tickets.

Follow the Brooklyn Museum’s Press Office on Twitter at BklynMuseumNews.

Photo: Randy Weston. Photo by Ariane Smolderen

Chapman Museum’s Wine & Chocolate Festival

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The Chapman Historical Museum’s 5th Annual Wine & Chocolate Tasting will be held November 12th from 5:30 to 8:00 pm at the Queensbury Hotel, 88 Ridge Street, Glens Falls, NY. The 2010 Tasting will feature a mix of more than 60 domestic and imported wines selected by Adirondack Wine Merchants from the myriad labels available through regional distributors. This year the offerings will include a wide range of varietals, whites and reds from dry to sweet, ports, and dessert wines. Attendees will discover both “great buys” and more expensive wines that they may not have tried.

The event also will feature gourmet chocolates from the Chocolate Mill, Barkeaters Chocolates, and locally made cheeses and desserts. Other participants include Argyle Cheese, Rock Hill Bakehouse, Sugarloaf Farm, and Catering & Cakes by Bella. Attendees may purchase food products at the event and order wines from Adirondack Wine Merchants, if they desire. Fiddler George Wilson will provide live entertainment throughout the evening.

New this year, NBT Bank is sponsoring an “Exclusive Wine Tasting” from 5:00-6:00 pm. Participants will taste a selection of amazing wines that are sure to please one’s palate, while learning about the terroir they are produced from and the history of the makers. VIP Passes to this exclusive treat, which must be purchased in advance, include admission to the rest of the evening’s events.

Tickets cost $30 per person in advance- $35 per person at the door. Admission to the Exclusive Wine Tasting is $75 per person. Attendees are encouraged to make reservations to go out to eat afterwards in one of Glen Falls many restaurants, eight of which are offering special discounts to ticket holders.

The 2010 Wine and Chocolate Tasting is sponsored by Adirondack Wine Merchants, Aeon Nexus, Cool Insuring Agency, Inc., D’ELLA Auto Group, TD Bank, and The Post Star. All proceeds benefit the Chapman Historical Museum.

For more info and tickets, call (518) 793-2826 or stop by the Chapman Historical Museum at 348 Glen Street, Glens Falls. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday, Noon to 4 pm.

This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers a collection of the week’s top weblinks about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our weekly round-ups here.

Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.

This Weeks Top New York History News

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Each Friday morning New York History compiles for our readers the previous week’s top stories about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our weekly news round-ups here.

Subscribe! More than 550 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.