• Press Room
  • Donate Today
  • Become a Member

Lyman Allyn Art Museum

  • Visit
    • Hours & Admission
    • Getting Here
    • Group Visits
    • Family Visits
    • Explore the Grounds
    • Facility Rental
    • Calendar of Events
  • Exhibitions & Collections
    • About the Collection
    • Permanent Exhibitions
    • Current Exhibitions
    • Upcoming Exhibitions
    • Digital Exhibitions
      • Mobile Tours
    • Past Exhibitions
    • Sculpture Trail
  • Education
    • Spring Break Workshops
    • Summer Art Immersion
    • Small Group Workshops
    • Drop-in Art Making
    • Learning Resources
    • Outreach Programs
    • Homeschool Programs
    • Onsite Group Visits
    • Children’s Birthday Parties
  • Events & Programs
    • Night at the Art Museum
    • Lectures and Presentations
    • Saturdays at the Lyman Allyn
    • Calendar of Events
  • Support
    • Membership
      • Reciprocal Partners
    • Giving
      • Lyman Allyn Fund
      • Planned Giving
      • Yellow Bus Fund
    • Get Involved
      • Docent Program
      • Volunteer Opportunities
      • Internship Opportunities
  • About Us
    • Your Museum
    • 90th Anniversary
    • Staff
    • Board of Trustees
    • Employment
    • Partners and Sponsors
    • Press Room

Stories of Resilience: Encountering Racism

February 14 – April 11, 2020
*Extended through August 2, 2020

Scroll down to see more images of the exhibit.

This engaging exhibit highlights the lives of five exceptional residents of New London County, past and present—attorney Lonnie Braxton, Rev. Florence Clarke, Sonalysts Board member Donetta Hodge, Coast Guard Commander (Ret.) Merle Smith, and 19th century freed slave and teacher Ichabod Pease. Stories of Resilience showcases their determination, bravery and strength in the face of personal and systemic racism. Developed from the Jewish Federation of Eastern CT’s Encountering Differences Program, the exhibit paints a picture of remarkable successes in the face of daunting obstacles through personal photographs, artifacts, and video testimonies.

In the press:
The Day: Resilience in the face of racism: Exhibition at Lyman Allyn in New London focuses on the extraordinary lives and impact of five local people
Hartford Courant: From burning crosses to everyday slights, pervasive racism documented in New London exhibit

This exhibition is generously supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee. We extend a special thank you to Todd Gipstein for creating all of the visual display panels and videos for this exhibition.


Lonnie Braxton
Lonnie Braxton was born in Greenville, Mississippi on February 9, 1948, the son of sharecroppers who had recently left the plantation. Educated in segregated Catholic schools, he joined the Naval ROTC as a sophomore in high school and served in the Navy, two years on active duty and over four years in the reserves.

He arrived in New London in November 1968 having chosen Connecticut as a place of opportunity in both industry and education. Over a period of fifteen years of part-time study while working at Electric Boat and pursuing business interests, he earned a BA from Connecticut College in 1986 and two years later earned a law degree from the University of Connecticut Law School. He currently serves as Senior Assistant State’s Attorney in the Juvenile Court in Waterford, Connecticut.

Rev. Florence Clarke
Florence Gilliard Clarke was born in Charleston, South Carolina on February 21, 1941. She was nine years old when her father died and fifteen when her mother passed. She was raised by her maternal grandmother Sarah Abner and her great aunt Victoria Jenkins. Her paternal grandmother, “Gals” Glover, was of Gullah heritage, a creole culture that preserved African linguistic and cultural traits from various African ethnic groups. In keeping with Gullah tradition, “Gals” wove baskets and raised vegetables, selling both in the former slave market in downtown Charleston. She also grew medicinal herbs for the family.

Clarke graduated from the historically black college of South Carolina State University in 1963 with a BS in Business Administration and Education. She taught in segregated schools in South Carolina before coming to New London with her future husband, George R. Clarke, Jr. when he was transferred to the Naval Submarine Base in 1968. They married two years later.

Widowed at the age of 44, Clarke supported her two daughters through her work at General Dynamics Electric Boat (1968-1996). After retiring, she returned to teaching, working in the Montville, East Lyme, New London, and Waterford school systems. Because of her longstanding connection with and positive impact on Waterford students, she was the keynote speaker at their high school graduation in 2002.

Clarke became a Deacon of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church in June of 1979 and an Elder in 1981. She studied theology at the Hartford Seminary and Yale Divinity School and organized the Clarke Memorial Church in 1996 in memory of her husband. It merged with the Walls Temple Church in 2013 and became the Walls Clarke Temple AME Zion Church in New London. She retired from the pastoral ministry in June 2017.

Donetta Hodge
Donetta Davis Hodge was born on January 6, 1948 in Kansas City, Kansas. She came to Connecticut with her parents at the age of five. Her father was in the military and they lived in off-base naval housing. After her parents’ contentious divorce in 1955, she lived with a foster parent in New London. Life was difficult and the BP Learned Settlement House in New London, community after school program, became a refuge.

She put herself through college, attending Mitchell College and receiving an Associate Degree in 1976, a BS in financial accounting in 1987, and an MBA from the University of New Haven in 2004. She held positions of increasing responsibility at Tunxis Sportswear, the Redevelopment Agency for the City of New London, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) for the Federal Government. In 1987 she was recruited by Sonalysts where she worked in auditing, financial accounting and administering the company’s affirmative action program. Her responsibilities included encouraging minority students to study engineering and technology and recruiting them for employment. Hodge is married to Morris J. Hodge, Sr. and is the mother of two children, one deceased.

Today Hodge is active in many community organizations and programs including the Dr. Martin Luther King Scholarship Trust Fund. She continues to advocate for educational programs to break down racial bias. Hodge currently serves on the Boards of Directors for Sonalysts, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Board, and the Child & Family Agency where she serves as Treasurer.

Merle Smith
Merle J. Smith, Jr. was born on August 11, 1944 in Greenville, South Carolina, his mother’s hometown. At the time, the family was living in Washington DC, where his father, who had been drafted into the Army, was stationed. As a military child, Smith grew up in various locales, including Germany and Japan. In keeping with his family tradition of military service, Smith enrolled in the Coast Guard Academy (CGA) in 1962 and became the first African American to graduate from the Academy in June 1966, earning a BS degree in Engineering. He later served in Vietnam and received numerous awards for his service.

Smith received his law degree from George Washington University in 1974 and eventually became general counsel for General Dynamics Electric Boat Division. He met his wife Lynda while in law school and they raised two children together.

Ichabod Pease
Ichabod Pease was born into slavery on September 10, 1755 on Fishers Island. He was given by his owner, James Mumford, to his son Robinson. Pease learned to read thanks to Sarah Colt Mumford, Robinson’s wife. Pease married his wife Rose sometime after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.

When Mumford, a Tory Loyalist during the American Revolution, planned to move south, Pease escaped rather than be separated from Rose, who belonged to a different household. A fugitive, Pease hid in New London, perhaps supporting himself as a shoemaker. Mumford sold his land and fled to the south, and Pease, left behind, had hopes of freedom. But Mumford had left debts behind. Please was located, attached by writ for a debt to Captain John Deshon, and transferred as “property” to him in 1783. Deshon emancipated him on June 27, 1794. Pease, as a free man, continued to serve Deshon. Rose was emancipated by Captain Robert Froud in 1796, who also gave her lifetime use of his house and furnishings after his death in gratitude for her devoted service. She and Pease lived in Fround’s former house on what is now Jefferson Avenue.

After Deshon’s death, Pease worked as a gardener for General Jedidiah Huntington, who had served on the staff of George Washington. Pease was a communicant for 60 years at St. James Church, where he came to know Bishop Samuel Seabury. At age 81 he opened a school for “colored children” in a back lot near the church.

Pease died on March 3, 1842 at age 86. At his funeral, “the most eminent citizens sought the privelage of acting as bearers…” Benjamin Stark, in his Historical Sketch of the Schools of New London states: “He deserved to be commemorated among those who have contributed to the cause of popular education in this town.”

Views from the Gallery

2020-04-09 11:44:51

210

210

2020-04-09 11:45:13

211

211

2020-04-09 11:45:40

212

212

2020-04-09 11:46:07

213

213

2020-04-09 11:46:44

214

214

2020-04-09 11:50:50

218

218

2020-04-09 11:47:03

215

215

2020-04-09 11:48:02

216

216

2020-04-09 11:49:57

217

217

Filed Under: Past Exhibitions

Exhibitions

About the Collection
Permanent
Current
Upcoming
Digital
Past
Sculpture Trail

HOURS & ADMISSION

Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday – Saturday: 10 am — 5 pm
Sunday: 1 — 5 pm
Last admission at 4 pm

We are located just off I-95. Take Exit 83 and follow the cultural attraction signs.

Calendar

Today
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
28
29
30
1
2
5:00 PM - Opening Reception • The Circle Game
3
11:00 AM - Free First Saturday - Winter Wonder Day
4
2:00 PM - Tour with the Curator- America's Instrument
5
6
7
8
9
10
2:00 PM - POSTPONED! Murstein Lecture - An Illuminating Look at Tiffany Lamps
11
12
13
14
15
7:00 PM - Open Mic: Hosted by New London Poet Laureate AnUrbanNerd, Josh Brown
16
17
11:00 AM - Science Saturday
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
Opening Reception • The Circle Game
Opening Reception • The Circle Game
Friday, December 2, 2022    
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Celebrate the opening of The Circle Game with an evening reception at the Museum. The Circle Game invites visitors young and old to enter into paintings [...]
More Info
Free First Saturday - Winter Wonder Day
Free First Saturday - Winter Wonder Day
Saturday, December 3, 2022    
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
  • Children's Programs
  • Special Event
Start your holiday season with a visit to our second annual Winter Wonder Day! Enjoy special crafts and activities inspired by the vibrant colors featured in [...]
More Info
Tour with the Curator- America's Instrument
Tour with the Curator- America's Instrument
Sunday, December 4, 2022    
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Lyman Allyn Museum
  • Lecture
  • Special Event
Join guest curator Darcy Kuronen as he provides an in-depth look at a selection of banjos on view in America's Instrument: Banjos from the Jim Bollman [...]
More Info
POSTPONED! Murstein Lecture - An Illuminating Look at Tiffany Lamps
POSTPONED! Murstein Lecture - An Illuminating Look at Tiffany Lamps
Saturday, December 10, 2022    
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Museum
  • Lecture
  • Special Event
Due to unforeseen circumstances, our special lecture with renowned scholar Lindsy R. Parrott scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 10 has been postponed. We are working to [...]
More Info
Open Mic: Hosted by New London Poet Laureate AnUrbanNerd, Josh Brown
Open Mic: Hosted by New London Poet Laureate AnUrbanNerd, Josh Brown
Thursday, December 15, 2022    
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
  • Special Event
Join us for a special Open Mic night! This program is hosted by New London Poet Laureate Josh Brown, known as AnUrbanNerd, and will feature [...]
More Info
Science Saturday
Science Saturday
Saturday, December 17, 2022    
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Museum
  • Children's Programs
  • Special Event
This fun drop-in program, designed for children ages 7-11, encourages participants to explore the intersections between art and science. December 17: Rock On What makes a [...]
More Info
Events on Friday, December 2, 2022
Opening Reception • The Circle Game
Opening Reception • The Circle Game
2 Dec 22
Events on Saturday, December 3, 2022
Free First Saturday - Winter Wonder Day
Free First Saturday - Winter Wonder Day
3 Dec 22
New London
Events on Sunday, December 4, 2022
Tour with the Curator- America's Instrument
Tour with the Curator- America's Instrument
4 Dec 22
New London
Events on Saturday, December 10, 2022
POSTPONED! Murstein Lecture - An Illuminating Look at Tiffany Lamps
POSTPONED! Murstein Lecture - An Illuminating Look at Tiffany Lamps
10 Dec 22
New London
Events on Thursday, December 15, 2022
Open Mic: Hosted by New London Poet Laureate AnUrbanNerd, Josh Brown
Open Mic: Hosted by New London Poet Laureate AnUrbanNerd, Josh Brown
15 Dec 22
New London
Events on Saturday, December 17, 2022
Science Saturday
Science Saturday
17 Dec 22
New London

CONNECT WITH US

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Visit Us

Lyman Allyn Art Museum
625 Williams Street
New London, CT 06320 USA
Tel: 860.443.2545
info@lymanallyn.org

Hours

Tues – Sat: 10 AM – 5 PM
Sun: 1 – 5 PM
Last admission at 4 pm
Closed Mondays & major holidays
Admission │ Directions

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Find it Fast

About Us
Privacy Policy
Refund Policy
Appraisal Inquiries
© 2022 Lyman Allyn Art Museum