Center for Community Arts (CCA) History Committee Chosen as MAC Volunteers of the Month for April

The members of Center for Community Arts’ (CCA) History Committee are the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) Volunteers of the Month for April 2016. Shown here, from left, are Committee Members Rachel Rodgers Dolhanczyk, Yvonne Wright-Gary, Shirley (Becki) Wilson, Emily Dempsey, Eugene Dempsey, Hope Gaines, Wanda Evelyn and Judy Ballinger. (Members not shown are: Robbi Conti, Heather Furlin, Isabella (Izzy) Gordon, David Mackenzie and Barbara Dreyfuss.) The committee mounted this year’s CCA exhibit, “History Speaks: From the Underground Railroad to Segregated Schools to Urban Renewal — Hear the Voices of Cape May’s African-American Community,” at the Carroll Gallery at the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May. The exhibit is sponsored annually by CCA in association with MAC. Mary Stewart, MAC’s Chief Outreach Officer, nominated the committee for the honor, to recognize their dedication to preserving and telling the stories of the African-American community in Cape May. The exhibit uses 21st Century technology to tell the story of Cape May’s African-American community from its earliest days to the present, using the words of people who knew that history best. The voices and stories have been preserved through videos, oral histories and printed documents. The quotes are gleaned from four current projects of the Center for Community Arts: a guided walking tour highlighting buildings that were key to the business, religious, social and educational life of Cape May’s African-American community; 60 recorded oral history interviews of current and former residents of the community; research conducted as a part of CCA’s work to preserve and rehabilitate the Franklin Street School, a segregated elementary school built in 1927; and research and development of a self-guided driving/bike tour highlighting the role of Cape May in the Underground Railroad. “The Committee has provided a unique gift to Cape May with this exhibit,” said Stewart. “We appreciate their hard work and are extraordinarily pleased to have had the opportunity once again to host an exhibit that tells the fascinating stories of our community.” For information on the exhibit, call 609-884-7525 or visit www.CenterforCommunityArts.org. For gallery hours call 609-884-5404 or visit www.capemaymac.org. The Volunteer of the Month award is given to a person or persons who demonstrates a high degree of dedication, commitment and constancy to the MAC organization. For information on the variety of volunteer opportunities available, please contact Barbara Hubmaster at 609-884-5404, ext. 109, or email bhubmaster@capemaymac.org. MAC membership is open to all. For information about MAC’s year-round schedule of tours, festivals, and special events, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278, or visit MAC’s Web site at www.capemaymac.org.