By Megan Sayles,
AFRO Business Writer,
msayles@afro.com
The Walters Art Museum will invite AFRO Publisher Frances “Toni” Draper to share the journey and accomplishments of the Black-, family-owned newspaper while in conversation with Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts Lynley Herbert on March 23. The discussion will tie into the stories of women who have created and published books in the museum’s collection.
“The Walters has always been a favorite museum of mine. I’m happy to be back there,” said Draper. “I love the fact that we are making connections between women of different eras and cultures as creators and women of the AFRO as creators, including women who were involved in the founding all the way up until the women involved today.”
The founding of the AFRO originated from an investment by Draper’s great-grandmother. Martha Howard Murphy, wife of John H. Murphy, Sr. , lent her husband $200 to purchase the newspaper in 1892.
Today, under Draper’s leadership, the media company continues to serve the community with a focus on Black news and Black issues. Savannah Wood, fifth-generation of the Murphy family, serves as executive director of AFRO Charities, which oversees the extensive archival collection. The AFRO archives encompass three million photographs, thousands of letters and rare audio recordings.
“The women who are curating our archives are all young women with a passion for the work—not just from a historical perspective but from a creative perspective,” said Draper. “I think that’s fascinating, and I’m excited to be a part of that.”
During the program, Herbert and Draper will draw connections between the Murphy family and the Calderon-Benavides family, which spawned seven generations of printers in Mexico—many of whom were women—from 1631 to 1815.
“I have three books in the exhibition by the first three generations of women printers, and I am continuing this strategy to acquire books by the entire seven generations of printers,” said Herbert. “The AFRO’s story connects really beautifully with its many generations and strong women leaders.”
Herbert started at the Walters Art Museum fourteen years ago. At that time, the museum possessed just four works by women in its collection, which represents nearly 3,500 rare books and 1,000 manuscripts spanning centuries.
Since then, Herbert has made it her mission to bring more women’s stories to the collection, as their voices have been historically viewed as unimportant.
“I want people to be thinking about women as having agency over their lives even in earlier periods. I think they get overlooked,” said Herbert. “Even across our entire art collection, there’s very few women makers, and a lot of times their voices are lost. That’s something I am trying hard to bring back to the surface with these acquisitions.”
The March 23 is free to the public, and interested attendees can register on the Walters Art Museum’s website.
Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.
