Texas
Black Arts Council to Showcase Black Sports Photography
November 26, 2002
IRVING, TX – The Irving Black Arts Council (IBAC) will
present an exhibition; Portraits of Excellence: Black Sports
Legends & Events, Past and Present. The exhibition will
be on display at the Irving Arts Center, 3333 N. McArthur Blvd,
Irving,Texas from February 1- March 2, 2003. A reception to
open the exhibition will be held at the Irving Arts Center on
February 8, 2003 from 5-8 p.m.
This free exhibition features African American athletes, teams,
events and sports figures through the lens of photographers.
The exhibit layout is designed into historical theme displays
including: Pioneers and Legends; Negro Baseball League; Black
Cowboys; African-American Tennis Players; Black College Sports;
Black College Bands; Sports as Movement; Tribute to African
American Female Athletes; and 1984 Olympians.
Sports memorabilia and sports art will also be displayed including:
A bust of former Dallas Cowboys great, Jim Jeffcoat; A signed
Sports Illustrated cover of Grambling legend, Eddie Robinson;
A signed original photo of Negro League legend, Buck O’Neill;
a framed & signed set of 30 Negro League Baseball Hall of
Fame members; Black College game Programs; collector cards of
1984 Olympic Fencing Bronze Medalist, Peter Westbrook; Collector
Cards of tennis legend, Lori McNeil, and a book display on African
American athletes. Local sports figures, to be named at a later
date, will be available to sign autographs.
Included to date, are the photographs from the collections of
R.C Hickman, Dallas; Rod Singleton, Lancaster; John Posey, Dallas;
Gerald Grimes, Dallas; Mercedes Posey, Howard University; and
George Tankersly, Chicago. IBAC has obtained the rights to photographs
from the following Museums, Libraries, Halls of Fame, and sports
organizations: Los Angeles Examiner/ Los Angeles Public Library;
Shades of LA Collection; Security Pacific Collection; Amateur
Athletic Foundation Collection; Center for Negro League Research
Collection; Texas Tennis Hall of Fame; International Tennis
Hall of Fame; Center for the Study of American History; Library
of Congress, and BSPIN Media Group.
Some of the athletes, sports figures and teams featured in the
exhibition: Muhammad Ali; Evelyn Ashford; Carl Lewis; Sugar
Ray Robinson; Lisa Leslie; Ralph Bunche; Michael Jordan; Joe
Louis; Coach Herman Boone (Remember the Titans); Anita DeFrantz
(Vice-President of the IOC) Jack Johnson; Wilma Rudolph; Flo
Hyman; Venus Williams; Jackie Joyner-Kersee; Flo-Jo; Serena
Williams; Lori McNeil; Chanda Rubin; Zina Garrison; Lee Elder;
Peter Westbrook; Mercenia “Tony” Stone (Negro Baseball
League Star); Buck O’Neill; Drew Pearson; Grambling Band
and football team; Prairie View Band; Dallas Lincoln Girls’
State Championship Team; Ashlee Williams, Bishop Dunne All-American;
Kobe Bryant; Cynthia Cooper; Southern University Band; Howard
University volleyball team; Tommie Smith & John Carlos (famous
Black Power salute from the 1968 Olympics); University of Arkansas
Pine Bluff Band
John Posey, CEO and Founder of BSPIN Media Group, is the curator
of the exhibition. Posey has covered many of the largest sports
events in the United States including: the U.S Open Tennis Championships,
USA Olympic Wrestling Trials, Texas Relays, Southern Heritage
Football Classic, Verizon Byron Nelson Golf Classic, Dallas
Cowboys, Southern Heritage Classic, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Bayou
Classic, Red River Classic, Global Games, U.S. Women’s
National Basketball Team, and the WNBA Playoffs. He has placed
more than 1,000 stories and 400 photos between 1998 and the
present.
“The exhibit of more than 140 photos is designed to educate
and stimulate the public’s knowledge of the Black sports
experience through the lens of the photographer. These photos
capture the spirit, movement, art, emotions of Black athletes,
fans and teams while serving a jambalaya for the soul,”
explained Posey.
