The late Dr. Abigail H. Jordan (1925-2019), who led the decade-long battle to erect the African-American Family Monument in Savannah, Georgia, and who in 1991 founded the Consortium of Doctors, was duly honored in the city July 25-28, 2019, with the unveiling of a new plaque for the monument and other noted events celebrating her legacy.
​ Savannah Mayor Eddie DeLoach, along with Dr. Jordan's son, Atlanta businessman Ken Jordan, and members of the Consortium of Doctors all participated in the historic event. Mr. Jordan noted the new plaque corrected the previous omission not only of his mother's name, but that of sculptress Dorothy Spradley, also present for the unveiling.
From the inscription: "Educator, Leaders, Trailblazer, and community activist Dr. Jordan's vision, tenacity, and financial contributions were the driving force that ensured the Savannah Riverfront was the home of the first statue in Savannah that honors African Americans. The Consortium of Doctors, Ltd, an organization that Dr. Jordan founded in 1991, made significant contributions to this effort. Sculptress: Dorothy Spradley. This plaque unveiled July 26, 2019." (Photograph by Aberjhani)
​The occasion marked the Consortium's 28th conference anniversary. A television cameraman and crowd of excited onlookers recorded videos, took photographs, and applauded as the covering was removed from the new plaque.
​Artwork Added ‘Strong Sense’ of Jordan’s Presence to Event
​One key component to the weekend of festivities was the artwork by Aberjhani titled "Historic Triumph of Dr. Abigail Jordan," a multimedia composition which includes original interpretations of images of Abigail H. Jordan and the African-American Monument combined with original abstract art. The piece was used on large framable cards, a poster, a tapestry draping the speaker’s podium at the Bouquet of Doctors banquet in the DeSoto Hotel, and on the cover of the banquet program. The artwork, according to various attendees, evoked a strong sense of Dr. Jordan's spiritual presence.
"As many people know already, Dr. Jordan is a principal subject of the story titled "The Bridge and the Monument: A Tale of Two Legacies," published in Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah," said Aberjhani. "It was my great honor and pleasure to count myself among the foot soldiers who assisted her however we could when completing preparations for the dedication of the African-American Monument in 2002. I'm happy to see that honor extended to this very special moment."
​​In addition to the unveiling of the new plaque and the Bouquet of Doctors Banquet (for induction of new Consortium members), conference events included a Think Tank session held at the historic First African Baptist Church and a Youth Summit at Savannah's famous Beach Institute. Among the attendees at the banquet was former Savannah mayor Edna Jackson, who was presented with a special award. ​ For more information on the Consortium of Doctors please visit: https://www.consortiumofdoctors.com/ Bright Skylark News Notes
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Books containing compelling narrative writing combined with appealing fine art by a single creative individual are rare. That makes the forthcoming nonfiction narrative collection by Aberjhani, titled "Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah" (ISBN 978-9388125956), Cyberwit.net Publishers) as well as the artwork from it featured here at Fine Art America/Pixels.com, highly collectible. In addition, the rarity makes them likely to continue increasing in value. The images in the book are black and white versions of color prints which may be viewed by clicking here: Art from and Inspired by Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah Previous announcements concerning a book including art by Aberjhani stated it would be one of art and poetry titled "Incandescent Wonder," so the news regarding "Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah" took some by surprise. "The inclusion of my art and photography in Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah surprised me as well," said the artist-author, "but I've been working on the narrative part of this title for a decade and have been posting updates about it on Facebook and my primary website for the past two years. The art and photography help complete the book in a lot of ways I never expected. I'm glad for the inspiration that prompted me to include it." The recently-posted art titled "Historic Triumph of Dr. Abigail Jordan" corresponds with the 2019 update of the story in DREAMS titled "The Bridge and the Monument: A Tale of Two Legacies." Aberjhani was in the process of completing edits for the book when he learned Dr. Jordan, who for a decade led efforts to erect the famous African-American Family Monument on River Street in Savannah, had passed in January. She is one of three people to whom the new book is dedicated.
"Learning about Abigail Jordan's passing was quite a shock because so little upon her death was done to publicly acknowledge this great woman whose devotion to eradicating racism and promoting cultural literacy in Savannah has blessed the city so much. The unveiling of the monument in 2002 made headlines around the world. How media in the city neglected to properly acknowledge Jordan's passing is somewhat mystifying but hopefully we will correct that by adding her name more prominently to the monument itself in the form of a plaque or historical marker." Pre-sales for the first limited edition of "Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah," due out May 1, 2019, are currently available for ordering here: Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah Now --Bright Skylark News Notes
Social media users and organization strategists who have long expressed appreciation of creative visual art combined with texts by Aberjhani can now purchase a wide range of items featuring both visual and literary creations by the author-artist at Fine Art America and the Charter for Compassion Marketplace.
​ Aberjhani first experimented with abstract poster art as a visual platform for poetry several years ago. The new Official Postered Chromatic Poetics outlet includes selections of fine-art styled images, photography, and digital art which may be customized for different items. Among the choice art gifts to which designs may be applied are: tote bags, towels, duvet covers, apparel, iPhone cases, Galaxy phone cases, and shower curtains.
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​The author-poet's work with different artists is well-known so the move to create a line of gift art items surprised many. In a blog on LinkedIn, he pointed out that, "In more recent times, the construction of visual images using photography, self-styled digital chromatics, poetry, collage, and found objects has insisted on sharing equal time and energy with literary endeavors." Awarded with Early Recognition
In less than a month since the opening of Postered Chromatic Poetics at Fine Art America, half a dozen groups have elected to feature different works by him. The groups include: Art District, Contemporary, Your Very Best Photography, Diversity and Social Justice, The Black Artists Guild, and USA Photographers.
"Seeing my visual art featured along with that of professionals who have worked at this far longer than I truly is an unexpected honor," said Aberjhani, "and I'm grateful for it." ​He added, "I also welcome the opportunity to donate part of the proceeds from the sales of images featured at the Charter for Compassion Marketplace to the organization. Helping increase our capacity for exercising greater compassion towards each other may be one of the most useful things any of us can do during these scary violent times." The images embedded below (like the ones above also) are some of the ones either currently featured by different groups or recently have been featured. At present, prices are considered introductory and subject to possible increase in the future:
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