CHARLOTTE, NC – Wells Fargo announces the extension of its national African American history celebratory tour through 2014, featuring the renowned exhibition, The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect.
This year, the exhibition will contain more than 130 items, featuring never before displayed artifacts, including: a first edition of Solomon Northrup’s 12 Years a Slave, the basis of the Academy Award-winning film; W.E.B Dubois 1st edition copy of his ground breaking book Souls of Black Folks; and the earliest known African-American marriage record dating back to 1598.
Through these objects, The Kinsey Collection seeks to dispel myths and promote dialogue about the role of African Americans in the making of America. Wells Fargo invites visitors of the collection to contemplate the items displayed and to reflect on the progress that African Americans have made in civil rights and social justice, as well as consider the work remaining to achieve equality.
The role of African Americans in the art and culture of early America was far richer than commonly thought – a contribution that has endured and flourished. At the same time, the end of slavery with the Civil War did not end the exploitation, violence, and neglect of the previously e Civil War Sesquicentennial and the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act enslaved and their descendants. Only through strength and commitment to social justice did African Americans secure their civil and human rights as a result of the Civil Rights Movement and passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Bernard Kinsey, avid collector, philanthropist, and educator, began this collection over 35 years ago with his wife, Shirley, and son, Khalil. Bernard was inspired to begin his collection after viewing an original bill of sale of William Johnson sold for $550 in 1832.
“The Kinsey Collection strives to give our ancestors a voice, name, and personality, enabling the viewer to understand the challenges, obstacles, triumphs, and extraordinary sacrifice of African Americans who’ve greatly contributed to the success of this country,” says Bernard Kinsey.
The exhibition’s combination of original documents, rare books, paintings and other works of art, early photographs and modern sculptures creates a unique and diverse experience, bringing history to life through art and artifacts. As visitors walk through the exhibition, they are fully immersed in a story of struggle for freedom, equality, and expression in American history – leaving the experience both educated and inspired.
In addition to the traveling exhibit, Wells Fargo launched the Untold Stories: Our Inspired History campaign as a social extension of the tour. The campaign features a three-part short film series narrated by celebrity influencers, Jordin Sparks, Lauren London, and Lance Gross, taking viewers through specific points in history highlighting artifacts from The Kinsey Collection. The campaign also multiple video vignettes featuring prominent lifestyle bloggers sharing their personal stories.
For more information on the Untold Stories: Our Inspired Historycampaign, please visit www.wellsfargo.com/
ABOUT THE KINSEY COLLECTION:
The Kinsey Collection strives to Educate, Motivate & Inspire Americans to learn more about the remarkable contributions of African Americans in building America. The Kinsey Collection has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and scores of television/radio shows and newspapers/magazines nationally. It has been cited in three national awards including the nation’s highest honor, The President’s Medal for Museum and Library Services, and was selected as one of the “Top Ten exhibits to see in the world”. With their son Khalil, the Kinsey’s have developed a 198-page coffee table book that has been adopted by the State of Florida to teach African American history, and a companion lecture series titled “What You Didn’t Learn in High School History”. The Kinsey Collection exhibition has been on display in eight museums including the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, with an iteration of the collection showing at EPCOT Center, Walt Disney World Resort through 2015.
