Harold Smith

Harold Smith

Harold Smith is an educator and multimedia artist who lives and works in the Kansas City area. Most of his work is focused on his experience within the American black experience.

Honors: Emiel Cleaver

Honors: Emiel Cleaver

Emiel Cleaver has used his video production skills to educate and enlighten by casting a light on Kansas City’s rich, yet complex, Black history. In addition to a critically acclaimed documentary on the Black political organization, Freedom Incorporated, Cleaver has produced documentaries on Bruce R. Watkins and the historic First Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kansas.

‘Whiteout’: An Artist’s Frank Memoir About His Family’s Racist Past

“My family arose from a line that defines white privilege and power, in a place of authority that has twisted the lives of many. Over generations, my family helped shape the Jim Crow laws in Alabama, convict the innocent and protect the guilty. They profited from slavery, racial terror, the labor of hired convicts, the prison leasing system and took full advantage of all the other perks that go with wealth and easy access to the powerful.”

Arts News: Rare Daguerreotype Gives Insight into Issues of Race

In November, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art announced the acquisition of a rare daguerreotype. The Hall Family Foundation purchased the work for the museum, and it is believed to be the earliest known photograph depicting African American slaves with cotton. According to a release from the museum, “the photograph was likely taken some time during […]