By Barbara Smith, Contributing Writer
Clothing, culture, courage, pride, and resilience were celebrated last week at the Mesa College opening of Clothes Story, a stunning collection of African American women’s fashion, spanning the years 1890 – 1963. Curated by Atlanta-based Kenneth Green, the exhibit honors contributions of Black women, both well-known and lesser-known, highlighting their roles as agents of history and change.
Green is a creative dynamo, whose love of history and storytelling combines with lessons he learned as a youngster observing his mother, Lois Green, a beloved seamstress in San Bernardino, who stitched together garments for the tight-knit Black community there.
Green’s impressive career spans teaching at multiple universities and colleges, notably Spelman College in Atlanta, where he held administrative roles in cultural programming, and later, worked in event production for Disney World in Florida. A highlight in his career was being selected to produce the unveiling of the Martin Luther King, Jr. monument on the Washington, DC Mall.
Dresses featured in the exhibit were lovingly replicated from historical photographs by tailors and seamstresses working with Green. A self-described museum nerd, Green, collected archival photographs over decades and researched each piece so that each fashion is crafted with historical authenticity. One of his most difficult projects was an eye-catching pink gown worn by Coretta Scott King, who, he points out, was an opera singer before she married Dr. King. It was one of the most difficult to make because of the intricate ruching. Others featured in the collection include garments worn by Mahalia Jackson, Dorothy Dandridge, Betty Shabazz, and Raven Wilkinson, a Black ballerina in the 1940s who danced with the Ballerinas de Monte Carlo.
The exhibition involved students in Mesa College’s Museum Studies program, according to Alessandra Moctezuma, Gallery Director and Professor of Museum Studies. “This has been a wonderful opportunity for our students,” she said, “providing them with real-life experience in exhibition setup and design. The hands-on involvement is key preparation for careers by teaching practical skills and teamwork beyond academic theory.”
It was a homecoming of sorts for curator Green, who renewed connections made during several years spent in San Diego’s theatre and dance community. “San Diego is where I started my professional career,” he remembers, collaborating as a teacher, dancer, and choreographer with such Black theatre pioneers as Dr. Floyd Gaffney and poet/artist Calvin Manson.
Mesa College President Ashanti Hands observed how the exhibit brought together a diversity of community members of all ages, fostering connections and engagement. “I can only imagine that anybody who sees this exhibit will walk a bit taller, calling up stories and shared history.”
A favorite story for Green is that of Dorothy Bolden, a domestic worker who worked long hours for little pay for an affluent family in Atlanta. One day, when asked to stay longer, she refused. She was incarcerated for three days and put under psychiatric evaluation because she had the audacity to talk back. Later, Bolden became a civil rights activist, helping to start the National Domestic Workers Union of America. “This is an example of an ordinary woman trying to feed her family, yet making an extraordinary difference for generations to come,” Green says.
“Our culture and our history are under assault in so many places. Exhibits like Clothes Story help by presenting these stories in a new and fresh way, providing access to history that might not otherwise be known, celebrating the women who have come before us and accomplished great things.”
For attendee Linda Kenney, the exhibit drew an emotional response as she recalled family history and the importance of legacy. Following Green’s talk, she scanned through her phone, bringing up archival photos, one dating to 1910, of her mother and grandparents, posing stiffly in period fashions, a mirror of the historical accuracy and stories of courage and resilience portrayed in the Clothes Story exhibit. Looking up from the photos, she offered, “I’ll be bringing my grandchildren to see this exhibit next week.”
Clothes Story runs through October 16 at the Mesa College Art Gallery.
