October 19th Dr. Burns met with Joe Beasley, founder of African Ascension, Georgia Congress persons and other members of various African American organizations at a dinner held in Beasley’s honor at the National Arts Club. Under discussion was displaying Burns’ traveling exhibition Shadow and Substance: African American Photographs from the Burns Archive in a Georgia institution. The show was seen in Indiana in 2009 and Maryland in 2010.
‘Ambassador’ Joe Beasley, the distinguished founder and President of African Ascension, was honored for his work in education. African Ascension’s mission is to expand the political, socio-economic integration and cohesion of people of African Ancestry and descent globally. Born in 1936 to Georgia sharecroppers, Beasley became one of the major leaders of Georgia’s black community and then went on to leadership roles in several national organizations. His work to improve the quality of life of people on the African Continent and those of African descent worldwide is facilitated also by the Joe Beasley Foundation, a quality of life improvement organization, focusing on social injustice, economic prosperity and education inequalities. He is a well-known personality on the African Continent as he is advisor and confidant to several African governments.
