David Terry, lead curator of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, has been named the executive director of the nearly one-year-old African-American history and culture museum in downtown Baltimore.
Terry, with degrees from the University of Maryland, Morgan State University and a doctorate from Howard University, replaces Sandy Bellamy.
A Prince George?s native, Terry is a former research specialist at Maryland State Archives in Annapolis, where his work included studying Maryland history as it related to the Underground Railroad, lynching and racial desegregation in the mid-20th century. In addition, he has spent nearly a decade teaching U.S. History and African Diaspora courses at Morgan State University.
Leslie King-Hammond, currently serving as the Dean of Graduate Studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art and a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University Department of the History of Art, was named chairperson of exhibits and collections committee at press conference.
“The Reginald F. Lewis Museum continues to grow and make great strides as one of Maryland’s leading museums,” said George L. Russell Jr., chairman of the board of the museum and gallery at 830 E. Pratt St. “The ascension of Dr. Terry to his new position and having Dr. King Hammond chair the Exhibits and Collections Committee will continue the institution’s commitment to provide our visitors with a quality experience.”
Celebrating its first anniversary in June, the museum currently features an exhibition is titled “Distant Echoes: Black Farmers in America,” a photography exhibit by John Francis Ficara. The show documents the lives of modern black farmers across the country. Originally scheduled to end its run Sunday, the well-reviewed exhibition has been extended until November because of it popularity, said Alzona Williams, spokesperson for the museum.
Earlier this year, the museum won a design award from American Associations of Museums in connection with Distant Echoes installation.
The museum?s next exhibit, opening May 12, is a multimedia event called “The Quest for Equality: African American Pioneers in Basketball.”
The show will include photographs, uniforms and the history of early black professional players, Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper and Horace “Sweetwater” McKinney.
