About The Afro Contemporary Art Class

The Afro Contemporary Art Class is an after-school, collaborative educational project for students in 3rd-5th grades at Dr. MLK Jr School. The project is founded and led by Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr.

ACAC helps young people of African descent to learn more about the histories and contemporary contexts that shape their lives, culture, and social contexts. These ideas are explored by studying contemporary artists and creatives as a conduit to (and a lens for) thinking through a range of experiences related to the African diaspora. The investigations begin with presenting an artist's work to the class, teasing out the underlying contexts in the work, and then presenting about the people, events, and outcomes surrounding those contexts.

Through hands-on exploration of the work of Afro contemporary artists and leaders, the project enables young students of African descent to learn more about the history and context that shapes their lives, culture, and social experience. The program includes interactive, immersive projects that provide opportunities for reflection and deeper understanding of the African diaspora and contemporary art. In this process of deep investigation, the students develop self-confidence through learning more about their own creative selves. ACAC was founded in the 2019-2020 school year.

All ACAC photos courtesy Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr.

The Black Panther Breakfast Program

Breakfast Program Re-Enactment (2020)

In February 2020, the Afro Contemporary Art Class (ACAC) presented The Black Panther Breakfast Program. It was a re-enactment of a free breakfast program founded by the Portland Black Panthers in 1969 for students attending Dr. MLK Jr School (breakfast was served across the street at Highland Church). At the re-enactment, Kent Ford and Percy Hampton, founding members of the Portland Black Panther Party, spoke about the breakfast program and their work as long-time activists and community organizers in Portland.

Breakfast at the re-enactment was donated by Erica Escalante, owner of Café Reina / The Arrow.

As part of their weekly meetings, the ACAC had been studying the work of artists involved in the Black Panther Party. This included Emory Douglas, an American artist who worked as the Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party from 1967 until the party disbanded in the 1980.

The Portland Black Panthers

In October 1966, the Black Panther Party (BPP) was founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in Oakland, CA. Although the party initially focused on “copwatching” (monitoring police activity), their work soon expanded to include many community support programs. Their founding values, also known as the 10 Point Program, is a list of demands that the party believed formed the foundation of a just and equitable society for Black Americans. Within several years, the BPP expanded to nearly 25 cities throughout the nation.

In the summer of 1969, Kent Ford founded the Portland, OR chapter of the BPP with a handful of friends. By December 1969, Ford and other Portland BPP members founded the Portland Black Panther Free Breakfast Program. Breakfast was offered at Highland Church, just down the street from Dr. MLK Jr. School, and primarily served students at the school. They served 25-125 breakfasts a day, five days a week. It is estimated that during this time, Black Panther Free Breakfast For Children Programs throughout the nation were serving more than 10-20,000 children a day, which is more than the US government was doing.

The Portland BPP also founded the Fred Hampton Memorial People’s Health Clinic, which gave free medical care five evenings a week to anyone of any race. In February 1970, they opened a dental clinic. The group kept the volunteer-run medical clinic open for nearly 10 years. The Portland BPP accomplished all of this work on limited resources and volunteer effort — there were fewer than 50 members in their party at its prime.

Today, Kent Ford continues his work as an activist by speaking at protests and encouraging young activists involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. He also gives living history tours as a memory activist with Vanport Mosaic.

more about The Portland Black Panthers:

• Portland’s Black Panthers, a comic by Khris Soden and Sarah Mirk

• Black Panthers in Portland by Martha Gies, Oregon Encyclopedia

• The Portland Black Panthers: Empowering Albina and Remaking a City, by Lucas N. N. Burke and Judson L. Jeffries, Published by: University of Washington Press, 2016

• "We're going to defend ourselves": The Portland Chapter of the Black Panther Party and the Local Media Response, by Jules Boykoff; Martha Gies, Oregon Historical Quarterly, 2010

The Afro Contemporary Art Class is founded and directed by Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr.

Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr. is black, non-binary, and practices primarily in America. Their collaborative approach results in artwork by and for the people. Stevenson’s practice has been dedicated to supporting young people ages 4 to 18 in developing the necessary skills to encourage advanced imaginative thinking and self-confident expression. They have spent the last year developing the Afro Contemporary Art Class at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School. Stevenson also has a robust portfolio of artist projects centering food and gathering around it, and new work in collaboration with currently and formerly incarcerated folks such as Gallery Blue, a curation and exhibition project, as well as Tin Can Phone, a forthcoming radio show on KBOO Community Radio. They pursue these professional and creative goals passionately because they believe that empowered and open-minded young people are the best and most direct way toward ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for all.