Crossings, an MPT special,
explores African Americans' contributions to
Maryland's art, history and culture

OWINGS MILLS, MD: Maryland Public Television (MPT), in cooperation with the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) Office of Tourism, Film and the Arts, explores the intersecting pathways of Maryland's African American heritage in Crossings. The half-hour special airs exclusively on MPT on Thursday, November 15, at
8 p.m. It repeats on Sunday, November 18 at noon, and Sunday, November 18, at 10:30 p.m.

"In the past few years, culture and tourism have become inextricably linked," says Robert Shuman, CEO and president of MPT. "The arts are an integral part of the package which draws visitors to our state and are a potent force in the economic life of our communities. Crossings, made possible by DBED's Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts, is, I hope, the first of many such joint projects."

Readings from nationally recognized poet and scholar Nikki Giovanni and three Maryland poets -- Lucille Clifton, Mary Carter Smith, and Andrew Lunn -- introduce each of the four segments of the program.

"Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad" introduces viewers to Dorchester County, the birthplace of Harriet Tubman, heroic conductor of the Underground Railroad, who led more than 300 slaves from this region to freedom. The Harriet Tubman Organization, based in Cambridge, is developing educational experiences for young people to give them a better understanding of the hardships and challenges faced by fugitive slaves.

Located in Cumberland, "Emmanuel Episcopal Church" was one of the stops on the Underground Railroad and on the current African American history tour of western Maryland. The history of the church includes the story of a black freedman whose job was to ring the bell of the church and who would toll a special ring signaling an "all clear" to runaway slaves who would then scurry to safety in the church's catacombs.

"African spiritual traditions and the Slayton House in Annapolis" explores artifacts found in slaves' quarters at the Slayton House in Annapolis. Remnants of long-forgotten ritual practices, they are thought to have religious meaning and are remarkably similar in motif to items found in contemporary African American culture. Two African American spiritual traditions are explored: capoeira angola, a spiritual dance/martial art, and umbanda, a traditional Afro-Brazilian spiritual healing ceremony.

Cab Calloway, Billie Holliday, Eubie Blake. In "Jazz!" the names of Baltimore's legendary jazz artists read like a who's who of this singularly American art form. Reminisences from the city's musical past and present are showcased.

The Crossings Web site will launch at air date at mpt.org, showcasing one of the state's founding families, the Calverts, and their home, the Riversdale Mansion. Plantation life was documented by one of the plantation's residents, Adam Plummer, a former slave who left a detailed journal about his experiences at Riversdale which his daughter would later retell in a book entitled Out of the Depths or Triumph On the Cross.

Underwriting for Crossings was provided by the Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts, a major marketing division of the Maryland Department of Economics and Business Development. Crossings is an MPT production; producer: Nate Howard.

Crossings is a part of MPT ArtWorks. MPT ArtWorks is a multiyear initiative that brings the arts to the community and the community to the arts, combining on-air and online capabilities with content from community partners to make the arts more accessible to Marylanders. Learn more about these Maryland opportunities on mpt.org/artworks.

Maryland Public Television is a not-for-profit, state-licensed public television station which serves the citizens and communities of Maryland and beyond through a variety of broadcast and nonbroadcast activities. For more information on this and other MPT on- and off-air programs, please visit mpt.org.

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