The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A3

MARYLAND Amid thephonyoutrageover the teachingof cal race thewhin- ingof thosewhohate to face the reckoningwith the ugliest aspectsof the continueswithdutifulhonesty anddeliberate righteousness. Distinctivemarkershavebeen set inplace toacknowledge the forgottenvictimsof lynchings fromSalisburyon theEastern Shore toCumberland in thewest, andanotherwentup thisweek in SouthernMaryland. gatherednear theold jailhouse inLeonardtown, the seatofSt. todedicate the latestblue-and-goldmarker, this onememorializingBenjamin Hance.Hewas just22yearsold inJuneof 1887whenamobbroke into the jail, draggedhimaway andhangedhimfromawitch hazel tree.HancewasBlack, themobwhite.Awhitewoman claimed andnothing inciteda racistmob like suchan accusation.Though therewere plentyofwitnesses, noonewas everheld responsible for the Hance in supportof justice for themarker states. TheLeonardtownmemorial is in the state.Othershave goneupover thepast twoyears in moreandWicomicocounties.

Therearemore tocome. Local groups formed toadvo- cate for thememorials, partof a largercampaignof theMary- landLynchingMemorialProject and theEqualJustice Initiative tomakeusawareof at least40 lynchingsknowntohave taken placeacross the statebetween 1854and1933. Whythisformalacknowledg- As ina familywithdark secrets stretchhere tocall the UnitedStates in2021a toend thedenial and acknowledge andpsychological, generationsofBlackAmericans. forward. Acknowledging the terror lynch- ingswithmemorialmarkers isnot amanifestationofwhiteguilt.

simply theembraceof truth, and longoverdue. Marylandmightbe thoughtof as that lynchingshad takenplace that something that happenedonly in thedeeply racist South, in the statesof theConfed- eracy? Sherrilyn book, cameout in 2007and focusedonMatthew WilliamsandGeorgeArmwood, the last twovictimsof lynchings in Maryland. theUniversityof Maryland lawprofessorwhonow directs legaldefense fund, got theconversationstarted here. ness incommunities throughout this the realityof lynchingandracial pogromshasneverbeen fully TheEJI, ledbyacclaimedattor- neyBryanStevenson, inspireda movementtobreakthesilencein severalstates.Theresult inMary- preparingforits fourthannual conferenceonSaturday.The missionofthememorialproject is iationinourstatebydocument- ingthehistoryofracial terror acknowledgmentofthesemurders andworkingtohonoranddignify This race a story that gener- ationsofAmericansneverheard orheardonly in spare reference duringhistoryclass.That’s chang- ingnow.That’s agood thing. TheMarylandLynching MemorialProjectoffers a strong programfor its virtual confer- ence thisweekend, and it servesas ananswer to the foolishcontro- versyover race I challenge thosewhoprotest the inclusionof racism in teaching Americanhistory tobreakaway fromFoxNews fora fewhours and tune in.

(Tickets The lineup includesamessage fromStevens, the founderof the EJIandauthorof expected to talkabout the MarylandLynchingTruthand ReconciliationCommission, establishedby theGeneralAssem- bly to investigate the lynchings and collaborators, if to suggestways towardracialheal- ing.Apanelwill discuss the status of Alsoon the Chavis, vice-chairof thecommis- sionandauthorof anewbookabout the Williams lynching inSalisbury in December 1931; Scott Seligman, authorof aboutJohnSnowden, aBlack man fromAnnapoliswhowas convictedof a 1917murderbyan all-white juryandhanged, but pardoneddecades Brown, anassociateprofessorof journalismat theUniversityof Marylandanddirectorof anew project, that chronicles the roleofnewspapers inencouraging racial violence; will portray theanti-lynching journalist IdaB.Wells-Barnett inwhat isbilledasapreviewofa one-womanshowcalled, Theconferencealsowill hear the storyofWalterManning, a Baltimore-bornTuskegeeairman was shotdownoverAustria in thewaningdaysofWorldWar II.Manningparachuted to the a Nazi-ledmobpulledhimfromjail andhangedhimfroma lamppost. Researchsuggests that thosewho lynchedManningwereemulat- inghowAmericans treatedBlack menathome. COMMENTARY reckoning with racismmust continue DanRodricks ByMaryCaroleMcCauley Warning to the humor-im- paired: An exhibit of OK, weirder art than usual opened Wednesday for a three-week run at the American Visionary Art Museum in Balti- more, courtesy of comedian and televisionhost JohnOliver. Titled Week Gallery for Cultural Enrich- the mini-exhibit of three artworks is nationwide, including AVAM, where itwill beonview through Nov. 21.

The winning museums were culled from nearly 1,000 appli- cants, according to AVAM. The museumwill receive a $10,000 grant. Oliver also is donating FoodBank. received a lot of amaz- ing support since the start of the pandemic, but this was a special recognition we quite said Carmen Del Guercio, the Food presi- dent and CEO, in an email. are grateful for the support this generous gift will provide, espe- cially as levels of need statewide remain historically high and Marylanders continue to grap- plewiththepandemicgoing into theholiday Chances are that collectionwill feel right at home at AVAM, which showcases pieces crafted by self-taught or artistswhooperateat adistance fromthemainstream.

For instance, one of the visiting pieces created by an anonymous says it all) would right inwith Allan a nearly life- sizesculpturebytheartistChristo- marshmallowPEEPS shaped like tombstones.Twamley’seyecandy wasfeaturedatAVAMin2017and 2018; themuseum later donated the statue to theEnochPrattFree Library. The second object in collection, by the artist ment of neckwear owned by her former director of the National Economic Council of theUnited lastyearafterLarryKudlowtolda reporterthathiswifeappliedfora small business bailout loan under the federal CARESAct, and that the process have been is cut from the same cloth as the longtime AVAMmainstay created by the artistEmilyDuffy pound ball of hooked-together brassieres. But what Oliver describes as the de of his collection is a work of so-called featuring Balti- unofficial spirit animal. Up a watercolor by theYork, Pennsylvania-based artist Brian Swords, depicts two rodents inapost-coital embrace. Theratsarepartiallyrecliningon a bed.

There are candles, and an lookat Olivermarvels inavideoaccom- panying the exhibit. as if Monethada Oliver dreamed up the competition last year to highlight the plight of muse- ums and arts organizations during theCOVID-19pandemic. Many already were struggling to survive before the virus shut- tered them overnight, drying up all revenue streams for most of a year; AVAM founder Rebecca Hoffberger estimates that the pandemic cost the museum $1.1 million, or more than a third of its average annual budget. asked museums across the U.S. if they would be inter- ested in hosting these master- Oliver says in the video.

Institutions lobbied to host the exhibit through socialmedia campaigns and online petitions. approachwas typi- cally creative: Along with her application, she photoshopped face intoaniconicphoto- graph of one of her cultural heroes, the comic writer Oscar Wilde. are said Hoff- 2022. Mr.Oliver is howheuseshumor to take on the big ironies in the politicalandcultural that he recognized and cared that the COVID pandemic and its forced public closures had caused grievous losses to muse- ums.Thenhecookedupahighly visible and fun challenge to publiclyunderscore that The exhibit began its tour in September at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, then visited Chica- Museum of Broadcast Communications. After leav- ing AVAM, it will stop off at the William V.

Banks Broadcast Museum Media Center in Detroit before winding up the tour in January at the Cartoon ArtMuseum inSanFrancisco. as if Monet had a furry John weird art exhibit opens at AVAM in Baltimore ByChristineCondon For the first time ever, the storiedRockefellerCenterChrist- mas tree will come fromMary- land, organizers announced Thursday. Thursday, the 79-foot tall Norway spruce will be felled in Elkton, and by Nov. 13, it will arrive in New York City, accord- ing to the Rockefeller Center website. For the televised tree-lighting ceremony Dec.

1, the 85-year- old tree will be covered in about 5 miles worth of multicolored LED lights and topped with a 900-pound star. From then on, the 12-ton, 46-footwidetreewillbe lit from6 a.m. tomidnight eachday, andall dayonChristmas.OnNewYear’s Eve, it will be lit from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Itwill stayupuntil Jan.

16. After that, it will be milled, treated and turned into lumber thatwill be used to buildHabitat forHumanity homes for those in need, continuing a longstanding tradition. The Rockefeller Center allows anyone to submit applications for their tree to be put up at the foot of the Midtown Manhat- tan skyscraper for Christmas. Officials typically select Norway sprucesnearing the later years of their least 75feet talland45feet indiameter, according to thewebsite. Rockefeller Center did not provide anymore about where inElktonthetree iscoming from.

The Rockefeller tree has been a tradition for decades. The very first tree-lighting ceremony, which started the practice, took place in 1933, two years after workers at the center pooled theirmoneytopurchasea20-foot tall balsam for Christmas and coveredit inhomemadegarlands. The tallest tree to be used for the ceremony was hoisted in 1999, a 100-foot tall specimen fromKill- But in all the years since, none of the towering evergreens had ever been chopped inMaryland. Until now. TheRockefeller Christmas tree is a Maryland for time The 79-foot spruce from Elkton will be felled Nov.

11, and a tree lighting ceremony will take place in New York City Dec. 1. COURTESY ByJustinFenton Thieves crashed a vehicle through the front doors of the Walgreens in theAnneslie Shop- pingCenterareaThursdaymorn- ingandstole latest in a runofdestructive thefts of cash machines. Four suspects driving a white minivan crashed through the front doors of the pharmacy around 3:45 a.m. and hauled out the ATM, Baltimore Police said.

Theygot away. Such thefts have been ongo- ing in the city and surrounding area, typically involving a team of suspects using stolen vehicles. One occurred at the 7-Eleven in theheartofFellsPoint inSeptem- ber and a Walgreens in High- landtown on Oct. 25. Baltimore County recently saw a string of such incidents, including onOct.

14 at Security SquareMall, with thieves driving into the entrance and unsuccessfully trying to ramanATMloose. Few arrests have been made, but county police were able to catch one suspect fleeing an attempted ATM theft Oct. 19 at a Cockeysville bank. Kevin Carranza-Portillo, 18, is being held on $7,500 bond and facing second-degree burglary, mali- cious destruction of property and theft between $25,000 and $100,000, court records show. Many stores bear signs adver- tising their ATMs inside.

Small businesses say they rely on cash machinestomakesurecustomers can get cash to make purchases, while owners typically receive a percentage of the fees on every transaction. Another vehicle is driven into a store to steal anATM inBaltimore The Walgreens at 6301 York Road near Walker Avenue had an ATM stolen after a vehicle crashed into the front of the store. SUN If you go The American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

Admission costs $15.95 for most adults, $13.95 for seniors ages 60 and older, $9.95 for students and members of the military, and is free for children ages 6 and younger. For details, call 410-244- 1900 or visit avam.org. The Baltimore Sun Friday, November 5, 2021 3.