|
The First Art Newspaper on the Net |
|
Established in 1996 |
|
Monday, December 23, 2024 |
|
From slavery to police abuse, new museum documents US history of racism |
|
|
The economics of enslavement, the violence of slavery, sexual violence against enslaved Black women, the commodification of people, and the desperate efforts enslaved people made to stay connected to loved ones is explored through text, art sculptures, iconography, and video animations and film.
|
WASHINGTON, DC.- Slavery, lynchings, segregation, mass incarceration and police abuse: a museum that opened Friday in the state of Alabama traces a direct link between the racist past of the United States and today's inequalities.
The Legacy Museum in the state capital of Montgomery is housed in a building where African captives were once held before being sold as slaves.
"It's a museum about the history of America, with a focus on the legacy of slavery," Bryan Stevenson, the head of Equal Justice Initiative, a civil rights organization in Alabama, told AFP.
"I can't think of another institution in America that has more profoundly shaped our economy, our politics, our social structures. And our character."
"Our understanding of slavery is very very incomplete," he said.
It is this information void that the Legacy Museum aims to fill, while prompting Americans to campaign against the inequality that persists today, according to Stevenson.
"The only way we can make progress in this country is if we engage both our minds and our hearts in a serious commitment to truth and justice to eliminating racial injustice," he said.
The museum, inspired by memorials to the Holocaust in Berlin or to apartheid in Johannesburg, offers an immersive experience: upon arrival, visitors board a ship crossing the Atlantic, witnessing the suffering of future slaves.
Another space is dedicated to the violence experienced by slaves, including sexual violence.
One wing is dedicated to the thousands of victims of lynchings of Black Americans, which occurred between 1877 and 1950. The National Lynching Memorial, located next to the museum, is devoted to the same topic.
The museum also conveys the "humiliation of segregation" in the South after World War II, Stevenson said.
Stevenson's organization provides legal assistance and advocacy for people wrongly convicted of crimes, a widespread problem for African Americans.
The group has succeeded in acquitting several people who had been condemned to death. In the museum, visitors can listen to them tell their stories.
The museum is part of a national reckoning on race and racism in America, which has grown more intense since the murder of African American George Floyd by a white police officer in May 2020.
Stevenson lamented that the efforts are meeting resistance on the part of conservatives. Still, he was optimistic.
"The good news is that we have the capacity to get past that fear, to get past that preference for silence," Stevenson said. "I believe we will make that choice."
© Agence France-Presse
|
|
Today's News
October 2, 2021
Mateo Blanco makes film debut: "Caged Bird" opens Oct. 2 in Orlando
The Brooklyn Museum and LACMA partner to acquire 200 photographic works by European women artists
UK street artist Banksy's famous balloon girl work to go on sale
In 'Afterlives,' about looted art, why are the victims an afterthought?
Reflex Amsterdam opens an exhibition of paintings by Michael Craig-Martin
From slavery to police abuse, new museum documents US history of racism
With big, bold art, Sarah Cain redefines seriousness in painting
Over the Influence opens the second solo exhibition of Gosha Levochkin in Los Angeles
Phillips announces highlights from its 20th Century & Contemporary Art Frieze Week Auctions
Sotheby's announces West Coast expansion with Beverly Hills flagship gallery space
Edward Keating, Times photographer at ground zero, dies at 65
Casey Kaplan now representing Ella Walker
An artist's portraits, stitched together on the subway
Onstage, 'Designing Women' sheds the shoulder pads, not its politics
George Frayne, aka Commander Cody, alt-country pioneer, dies at 77
Exhibition at Mudam Luxembourg addresses the nature of production, consumption and wealth in the 21st century
Sotheby's opens Burning Man auction with 150+ lots
Joslyn Art Museum opens 'Faces from the Interior: The North American Portraits of Karl Bodmer'
French and Russian art on a 'War and Peace' scale
Carlisle Floyd, whose operas spun fables of the South, dies at 95
Revisiting a post-apocalyptic play in the pandemic
Fine autographs and artifacts featuring presidential memorabilia up for auction
Rare Jean-Michel Frank chandelier shines at Heritage Auctions Sept. 30 design event
Review: In 'Never Let Go,' a solo performer's heart goes on
How to get a Special Power of Attorney in Dubai?
Six Ways to Find the Best Judi Slot on the best casino
How to decide between online and offline courses
A reasonable bag for every type of father
Different ways to get Mods Of The Lost Triumph in Destiny 2
7 tips for playing winning poker
Why does your furnace need to be cleaned regularly?
How Art Therapy Helps People Improve Their Mental Health
|
|
|
|
|
Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography, Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs, Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, . |
|
|
|
Royalville Communications, Inc produces:
|
|
|
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful
|
|