Building For Tomorrow: E.C. Morris, Centennial Church and the Black Baptists During Jim Crow

This extraordinary new exhibition explores the role of the Baptist Church in the lives of African Americans during the turbulent period of Jim Crow, as they navigated the difficulties and hardships of a segregated country.  Visitors, as they enter the South Gallery of the Delta Cultural Center, will first notice the large replica stain glass window that symbolizes the church. It is if they have been reborn in the past and are looking into this window to see what is happening in a church of that era. From that point, guests will be able to read and study numerous historical panels that depict the expansion of the Baptist Church throughout the Arkansas Delta and into the lives of African Americans. 

Activists such as Booker T. Washington and others used this religious awakening to further the cause of reform, but it was through the tireless labor of one Arkansan that the church rose to new levels of importance. That Arkansan was the Reverend Elias Camp Morris, who rose to national prominence through his work with the National Baptist Convention. In addition to his work in politics, Morris was the pastor at Centennial Baptist Church in Helena, Arkansas from 1879 to his death in 1922. Centennial was an example of an early megachurch with nearly a thousand members and was a beacon of light for all African Americans in the area. E.C. Morris was also president of the Black Arkansas Baptist State Convention for 35 years and helped start a seminary in Little Rock that eventually became Arkansas Baptist College.  There is a life size replica of Morris at his podium and interactive displays which feature a number of his speeches that visitors may listen to. In addition to the church, there are also displays and information panels dealing with the role of fraternal organizations like the Knights of Pythias and the Masons.

"The Redemption of a Delta Bluesman: Robert Johnson"

“The Redemption of a Delta Bluesman: Robert Johnson” consists of twenty-nine paintings that focus on the life and legacy of this legendary musician. Although only 27 years old when he died in 1938, his music and style has influenced generations of artists who came after. In American music history, Robert Johnson is known as the “King of the Delta Blues.” Some of his most well-known songs include “Cross Road Blues”, “Hellhound on My Trail”, and “Walking Blues.”

After a long career in education, Memphis artist Andre LeMoyne Miller decided to focus full time on his passion. Today his originals and reproductions can be found across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Miller’s paintings and graphite pencil work have engaged in subjects as diverse as the Civil Rights Movement, Delta blues and jazz music, cultural religious imagery and a series dedicated to the historical Orange Mound community in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2023, Andre Miller completed his three-year long acrylic-on-canvas series paying homage to Robert Johnson.

The first painting of the series was influenced by the legend of Robert Johnson with him standing at the fabled crossroads. The following twenty-eight works would be influenced by further research and meditation on what the young musician's life was like.

The Grand Opening of this new exhibition will be held on Friday, January 24, 2025, with remarks by artist Andre L. Miller and entertainment provided by bluesman Keith Johnson. Food and refreshments are provided, and the event begins at 5 p.m. "The Redemption of a Delta Bluesman" Robert Johnson" will run from January 24 thru April 12, 2025.