In celebration of Black History Month, GRACE Staff took time last Saturday to visit the South Dallas Cultural Center. Planned by the staff-led Diversity and Inclusion Committee, a group of 14 staff members planned a visit to the African American Museum last Saturday. However, due to an unforeseen power outage, the museum staff quickly pivoted and lead GRACE down the road to the South Dallas Cultural Center where they received a private tour.
Since opening its doors near Fair Park in Dallas, TX in 1986, the South Dallas Cultural Center provides programs in the performing, literary, and visual arts with an emphasis on the African contribution to world culture. They facilitate enriching and dynamic opportunities for the Dallas community and seek to promote a more equitable, cooperative, and empathetic community by engaging the public with art and cultural experiences influenced by the African Diaspora. (Note: As our team learned last Saturday, African Diaspora is a term used to identify the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa who were dispersed due to the Transatlantic Slave Trade from the 1500s to 1800s).
During the private tour, GRACE Staff got to admire many pieces of artwork and murals done by local artists and watch a demonstration of Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art developed by African slaves in Brazil. The slaves disguised the fight form as a dance which is designed to strengthen the body and is comprised of specific offensive and defensive movements.
The Diversity and Inclusion Committee looks forward to presenting new opportunities to GRACE Staff throughout the year to encourage experiences that though available, have yet to be fully explored.
