Harvey B. Gantt Center

Her name may not be well known, but Bessie Stringfield’s prowess, antics and bravado on a motorcycle are legendary. Stringfield taught herself to ride a motorcycle as a teen. She went on to become the first African American woman to travel across country solo on a motorcycle in the 1930s. WFAE’s Gwendolyn Glenn has more on North Carolina native Bessie Stringfield, mentioned in a current exhibition at the Gantt Center in uptown Charlotte.

The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture will kickstart its Year of Service initiative on Monday. The center has partnered with thirteen local organizations to provide opportunities to volunteer. They include groups focused on human services and the arts.

Bonita Buford, the new CEO of the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture plans to build on its success of the past 50 years by expanding the collection, bringing in larger exhibitions, focusing on social justice and making the center more multidisciplinary.

Jonathan Green is widely known for his art depicting Gullah culture and the South Carolina Lowcountry. His new book, "Gullah Spirit," just published, and he's stopping by Charlotte's Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture for a reception.

A new exhibition at the Harvey B. Gantt Center For African-American Arts + Culture wants to show just how important resilience is to Black history.

Organizations around the Charlotte region are not letting the coronavirus get in the way of marking this year's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, Jan. 18.

The coronavirus pandemic left artists, performers and restaurateurs reeling. Between that and the social justice protests that overtook the U.S. after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, creatives were finding new ways to reach audiences and make an impact. In fact, there were too many stories to tell in our arts and entertainment newsletter. Here are a few of the ones that stuck out the most to us.

Dr. Mary T. Harper, whose idea for an African American cultural center in Charlotte became reality in the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts…

For six months, the arts world in Charlotte and beyond has placed everything on hold and waited. Waited for coronavirus infection numbers to decline,…

The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the African American community is getting attention and action in Mecklenburg County. But panelists at an…