walls turned sideways are bridges (Exhibition)

Reception with curators william cordova and Marie Vickles

Attend the opening reception of AARLCC's new exhibition, "walls turned sideways are bridges."

This exhibition, curated by william cordova and Marie Vickles, focuses on the evolution of youth radical community activist movements that became prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s, through organizations like the Black Panther Party, The Young Lords Party, Brown Berets, Tupamaros, Red Guard, Grey Panthers, Dalit Panther Party, Florida JOMO Movement, BAMM (Black Afro Militant Movement), American Indian Movement, and White Panther Party, representing only a few of the groups that exemplified the people's vanguard for social change. This phenomenon would eventually have a national and global impact, and yet today most of what is known about the Black Panthers, Young Lords, and other activist organizations is erroneous or misleading. It is not widely known that the Black Panther Party had Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Central Americans, Native Americans, Armenians, Asians and Anglos in their ranks, or that the Young Lords was originally a Chicago Puerto Rican gang for almost 10 years before they transformed themselves into a community activist organization, or conversely that there were Black Panther Party's in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, India, Spain, Bermuda and UK. 

About the African American Research Library and Cultural Center 

The Broward County African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) is located in the Sistrunk community, one of the oldest historically Black communities named for one of Fort Lauderdale’s first Black physicians. Opening to the public on October 26, 2002, AARLCC became the third public library of its kind in the United States dedicated to the study of Black history and culture. The 60,000 square-foot Center serves as a repository of materials related to the local, national, and international voices of the African diaspora with more than 85,000 books, manuscripts, artifacts, framed art, print, photography, audiovisual, and documents held in our Adult Services Section and Special Collections. The Youth Services Section features a special collection of Coretta Scott King Award books and the Ashley Bryan Art Collection from illustrators of African Descent. AARLCC also features a 5,000 sq. ft. museum, a 300-seat state-of-the-art theatre, and a Computer Training Center.

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