By BETHANY SHERROW
Assistant News Editor

(KANSAS CITY, Mo., digitalBURG) — In July 1839, African captives aboard the Spanish vessel Amistad overtook Spanish slave traders who had illegally abducted them and steered the Amistad to the shore near Long Island, New York.

PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY SHELBY SPRINGER
Delia Gillis chats with Africana studies students by Hale Woodruff’s murals Friday at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

Hale Woodruff, an Atlanta artist, was commissioned to paint two series of murals to be housed in Talladega College, the first college in Alabama to open its doors to all races. Woodruff’s murals begin with a depiction of the Amistad and continue to portray events in the rise of blacks ranging from revolt to freedom to empowerment, according to a Nelson-Atkins catalog.

The murals are on display at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and will be there until Jan. 10, 2016.

On Friday night, Delia Gillis, professor of history and director of Africana studies at UCM, joined Adrienne Hoard, professor of fine arts and director of black studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas to guide a scholarly conversation about the Amistad and Woodruff’s paintings.

Gillis said 20 students from the Africana Studies Club at UCM were in attendance at the event. She said connecting students to outside historical sites and opportunities is inherent to what she does.

A mural by Hale Woodruff, an Atlanta artist

“I just felt that those murals were so beautiful and so important that I said, ‘I just really would like to see a group of students be able to come and enable them to come and make sure that it was possible,’” she said.

Gillis said she reached out to Gersham Nelson, dean of the UCM College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, to ensure student involvement. Nelson agreed to help, and Gillis was able to bring students by partnering with UCM Student Activities.

“(The students) were able to participate and actually go to the museum to actually see these historic murals, and not only hear from me as a scholar but also another scholar in black studies who’s an art historian,” Gillis said. “They had an absolutely wonderful time. I think it’s something that we’re going to continue to do and have our night at the museum where we actually really go as a group.”

Tre’Von Wilson-Wade, a sophomore at UCM, said the discussion was interesting.

“She knew a lot about the topic,” Wilson- Wade said. “She told the story very well. I recommend people come out and check out the exhibit. It was inspiring especially since she is the leader of Africana studies; I’m in the club. It’s cool to see your teacher getting out and doing different things.”

Gillis said the night at the museum will become a regular event for the Africana Studies club.

“There is something about being physically there to see those murals,” Gillis said. “They’re huge, they’re beautiful works of art, and to actually see that and experience that helped them bond together as a group.”

Gillis said she loves working with the Nelson-Atkins and thinks it is a wonderful treasure for all students, not only students of the arts, but anyone who has a love or interest in humanities.

Gillis will be speaking at the Nelson- Atkins again in January on a photography exhibit showcasing the Civil Rights Movement of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s; Gillis’ discussion will include issues of the day such as what happened in Ferguson and what is happening at the University of Missouri.

The exhibit will include local photographers who captured local civil rights movements.