WE WERE THERE: VOICES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN VETERANS
OPENS AT NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER MAY 21, 2004

Philadelphia, May 17, 2004 — We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, an exhibition of portraits and excerpts from the military experiences of twenty-nine African American men and women, will open at the National Constitution Center Friday, May 21, 2004.  The exhibition, based on the book of the same name and written by Philadelphia Daily News reporter Yvonne Latty with photographs by Ron Tarver, a staff photographer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a Pew Fellow, will remain on display at the Center through August 15, 2004.

The exhibit will weave together veteran portraits and book excerpts of their military experiences from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Though the people interviewed by Latty are connected by their military service, the book is not about war. Nor are the stories meaningful only to African Americans. They are stories of identity, growth, love, fear and bravery, stories of twenty-nine men and women veterans who did more than they believed they were able to, even in the most difficult circumstances. The stories reveal those that went on to great success, as well as those that struggled, forever scarred by their military experiences.

"Like Supreme Court justices and the president, the men and women of the armed services take an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. That is something the National Constitution Center seeks to educate our visitors about." said Center President and CEO Richard Stengel. "At the same time, many black soldiers, as Yvonne Latty describes, served a country that discriminated against them. That is something immensely moving and makes us proud to host this show."

In addition to the exhibit, the Center will host programs including opportunities for visitors to meet the authors and veterans whose stories are featured in the exhibit, book-signings. 

On May 23 at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Vietnam Veterans will take part in a discussion with visitors about the war during the program Coming Home: Black Americans & the Vietnam Experience. The program is free with paid admission.   On June 5 at 11:30am and 1:30pm, the Center will host the program Marching Together:  Waverly Woodson, and the other black soldiers on D-Day in the Domestic Tranquility section of the exhibit.  During this program, Latty will read her interview with Waverly Woodson, member of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, which was the only Black combat unit to take part in the D-Day landing on the Normandy coast June 6, 1944. The program is free with paid admission to the Center.   

Admission to We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans is free with paid admission to the Constitution Center.

The exhibition was designed by the design firm dommert phillips, an exhibition design and architecture firm in Philadelphia.  The firm provides interpretive planning, exhibits development and design and architectural planning and design services to organizations, institutions and private sector clients.  Dommert phillips’ mission is to create narrative spaces that stimulate inventive and critical thinking.  Each project is considered a unique opportunity to communicate an essential story.  

The National Constitution Center, located at 525 Arch St. on Philadelphia’s historic Independence Mall, brings the story of the Constitution to life through more than 100 interactive and multimedia exhibits, film, text, photographs, sculpture and artifacts.  The Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, which serves as a hub for national constitutional education and debates, educational resources for teachers and students, and as a home for visiting scholars and experts. The National Constitution Center is the first museum in the country designated as a member of the National Archives Experience Alliance Initiative.  For more information, call 215.409.6600 or visit www.constitutioncenter.org. 

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The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), Philadelphia’s regional tourism marketing agency, is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to building the region’s economy and positive image through tourism and destination marketing. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, call the new Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676, or visit www.gophila.com.

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit the photo gallery of www.gophila.com/pressroom

June 2004

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