The Boston Collective was a group of emerging artists in the 1980’s who orbited around the significant force that was Allan Rohan Crite (1910-2007). Collective members Aukram Burton and Reggie Jackson have been documenting the life and work of Crite through filmed interviews and photographs while drawing inspiration from him about how to be artists themselves. Hear more about the Boston Collective and the ways that Burton and Jackson helped ensure Allan Rohan Crite’s legacy through their own work.

About the Speakers

Aukram Burton is an educator, media artist, and producer who serves as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. His work illuminates the cultural links between Africa and the African Diaspora through media, exhibitions, and performances. For more than forty years, Aukram has documented the lives and traditions of African-descended communities in various locations, including Barbados, Brazil, Benin, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ghana, Haiti, Jamaica, Japan, Nigeria, Panama, Senegal, South Africa, Tibet, and across the United States. His photography transcends aesthetics—it serves as a form of activism and a means of engagement. Through his lens, Aukram creates counter-narratives that challenge stereotypes and foster a deeper understanding of the African Diaspora. His images focus on dignity, cultural identity, and shared humanity, encouraging reflection and dialogue. With a passion rooted in political awareness, his work affirms the resilience and richness of African-descended communities, aiming to inspire social change through visual storytelling.

Dr. Reginald L. Jackson is the founder and president of Olaleye Communications, Inc. where he serves as a consultant to artists and scholars who are conducting visual and cultural research related to African retentions in the Americas. He is an Emeritus Professor of Communications at Simmons College and worked as academic V.P., Dean of International Relations and Professor of Visual Communications at African University College of Communications in Ghana. As an educator and visual artist, Dr. Jackson has documented African retentions in Ghana, Nigeria, Cuba and Brazil. A prolific exhibitor, he has participated in over 150 exhibitions including Ghana, China and Brazil. Jackson’s work can be found in the permanent collections of institutions such as the MIT Museum, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Boston Athenaeum, the Bowdoin Museum of Art, the RISD Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, Simmons College and Amherst College.

G McFarland is an artist, archivist, and the Boston Athenaeum’s Allan Rohan Crite Exhibition Assistant. In his practice, G uses film photography and sound recording to produce experimental records of place and phenomena. His work appears under the name Lovett Muds.

Join us for a conversation about the life and legacy of Allan Rohan Crite. We heard from close friends of the artist about his innovative approaches to celebrating and elevating the local Black community of Boston as well as their contributions to this landmark exhibition.

Moderated by Christina Michelon, curator of Allan Rohan Crite: Griot of Boston and including Frieda Garcia, local activist, community leader and former Executive Director of the United South End Settlement, Edmund Barry Gaither, Director and Curator of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Byron Rushing, former president of the Museum of African American History and former MA state representative and Denise Patmon, Leadership in Education Department Chair at UMass Boston and Athenaeum proprietor.