Neighbor News
Peekskill's Mel Tapley Honored with Centennial Celebration Day
On May 12th, the influential African- American artist,activist,and educator is celebrated with a day-long event at The Field Library .
The Field Library, The Peekskill chapter of the NAACP and the City of Peekskill proudly declare Saturday, May 12, 2018 "Mel Tapley Day." The Field Gallery will be featuring Tapley's original drawings and panels, previously unseen, from the archives of the Amsterdam News, housed at Cornell University's Division of Rare Books and Manuscripts. Mayor Andre Rainey will be on hand to officially declare May 12 as "Mel Tapley Day" in the City of Peekskill.
Mel Tapley was a giant in Peekskill's African-American history. An early president of the NAACP, Tapley was also Vice President of the Peekskill School Board, a founder of the Human Relations Committee, and Trustee Emeritus to Peekskill's Field Library. As the longtime Entertainment Editor of the Amsterdam News, his cartoons and writing contained clear, salient messages, often controversial, and helped raise awareness of many topics overlooked or buried in other mainstream papers. He is widely considered to be one of the most important black cartoonists of the era.
Special guest speakers to be announced.
For more information, please contact Alicia Morgan, Arts and Program Curator at the Field Library at 914-737-0521. Visit the Library's website .
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Image Credits:
Mel Tapley "Disney Land". Undated. Courtesy of Cornell University Amsterdam News Archive, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.
Mel Tapley "An American Tragedy." Alexander Gumby Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Columbia University and the estate of Mel Tapley.
