Virtual “Fighters for Freedom” Juneteenth Conversation

Explore how artist William H. Johnson depicted the history behind the fight for freedom and the abolition of slavery in the United States in this compelling discussion. Learn about the role the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), like Hampton University, have played in preserving William H. Johnson’s work as well as the connections between the subjects of Johnson’s “Fighters for Freedom” series and the history and celebration of Juneteenth. SAAM’s Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art, Dalila Scruggs, moderates a conversation between Hampton University Art Museum Curator of Collections, Kenlontae’ Turner, and SAAM’s Teacher Institutes Educator, Phoebe Hillemann, as they explore two key works on loan from the Hampton University Art Museum, as well as other paintings featured in SAAM’s exhibition “Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice.” Valerie Cooper, SAAM’s Community Outreach Consultant, leads all the participants in a roundtable discussion at the end of the program. This program was presented virtually on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. For more information on William H. Johnson, visit https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/fighters-for-freedom.