Reflections in Black
- An Illustrative Journey through the Afrocentric Experience.
In celebration of Black History Month 2006, the Office of Housing and Residential Life is pleased to present Reflections in Black: An Illustrative Journey through the Afrocentric Experience. Depicting over 50 illustrations, this gallery exhibition chronicles the history of African and African American peoples in their struggle for greatness, survival, identity, and political power, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Reflections in Black begins with a journey back in time to the ancient civilization of Egypt. It continues with the Middle Passage through which millions of African men, women, and children, torn from their homeland and stripped of their heritage, were shipped to the Americas as slaves. From the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the exhibition captures the courage, determination, and hope that inspired African Americans in their journey “up from slavery” to freedom and selfdetermination. The journey concludes with the promise of the modern Civil Rights Movement, a period in history that inspired millions of people to dream that America, one of the greatest nations on earth, can be an oasis of freedom and justice. Although the struggle continues, as evident by the cycle of despair caused by the devastation of Katrina, we hope viewers of this exhibition will learn from the Afrocentric experience and move beyond the past.
Our Mission
This gallery exhibition seeks to increase understanding of the Afrocentric Experience by encouraging critical inquiry, scholarly research, and inclusive teaching from a diverse perspective. And yet, while we take this opportunity to celebrate Black History Month by embracing the rich heritage of African Americans, let us not forget the many individuals, from varied cultural backgrounds and experiences, who have helped to transform this nation through courage, strength, and determination. As partners in the educational process, we welcome the opportunity to work with students and faculty in exploring the interdisciplinary context of this gallery exhibition - offering new interpretations and asking critical questions about African American history. In doing so, Reflections in Black serves as a dynamic educational resource for UMass Dartmouth and the larger community.
The Exhibition
Gallery 1: The Great Kings and Queens of Africa
Since 1975, the Anheuser-Busch Great Kings and Queens of Africa program has promoted cultural pride and cultural awareness. The program was created to help fill the void in the ancestral history of African-Americans by highlighting the richness of African history. This gallery exhibition contains 7 of the 30 illustrations that comprise the Great Kings and Queens of Africa art collection. They include: Hannibal – Ruler of Carthage (247-183 B.C.); Shaka – King of the Zulus (1818-1828); Akhenaton – Pharaoh of Egypt (1375-1358 B.C.); Sunni Ali Ber – King of Songhay (1464-1492); Tiye – The Nubian Queen of Egypt (ca. 1415-1340 B.C.); Nefertari – Nubian Queen of Egypt (1292-1225); and Nandi – Queen of Zululand (1778-1826 A.D.).
Gallery 2: The Transatlantic Slave Trade
The Transatlantic Slave Trade was the most extensive forced migration of human beings in history. It has been estimated that during the period 1450-1870, about 13 million enslaved Africans were shipped on European and American vessels across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas as slaves. The Transatlantic Slave Trade was the second leg of a triangular economic route between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Traders left European ports headed for Africa’s west coast. There they exchanged trade goods for humans and loaded their human cargo into ships. The transatlantic voyage itself- the infamous “Middle Passage” -usually took six to eight weeks.
Gallery 3: The Bitter Years of Slavery
There is no doubt that the Transatlantic Slave Trade was the African holocaust. This tragic event resulted in the wholesale death and exploitation of millions of African lives. It also ”transformed the modern world. And though it left a terrible scar, it gave birth to the African Diaspora. Unfortunately, the media has generally been very derogatory of African people as their voice, culture, and history are often shown through European eyes. But, in order for equality to be served, African Americans must be free to tell their own stories. They must be active agents in how their image and their history are represented in a multicultural world. The scars of slavery transcend the physical and lie rife within the black community. These scars have been dreadfully integrated into our lives and serve as one of the fundamental components undermining the self-worth and development of African Americans. The key to uplifting the African psyche and spirit starts in understanding who we are and where we are from. Once we have acquired this knowledge, it will serve as a catalyst for self-respect and much needed self-determination”
(Retrieved January 9, 2006 from http://www.africanholocaust.net/ah_about.htm).
Gallery 4: Hard Reality of Freedom
“At the end of 1865, when total emancipation became effective, one of every three Southerners and one of every nine Americans was a recently liberated slave. For the moment, slaves thought of little else but freedom. However, the next 40 years of reconstruction and returning repression was a time of harsh disillusionment for African Americans. Although newly freed slaves were no longer property, they were not citizens either. They could not vote, sit on juries, or hold public office. In fact, a series of “Black Codes,” passed by the state legislatures, forced Negroes to accept wages and working conditions previously allowed by their former masters, making freedom a hard reality” (Butterfield, 1968, p. 3).
Gallery 5: Images of African Americans during the Jim Crow Era
During the first half of the twentieth century, African Americans saw many graphic reminders of their second-class citizenship. Included among these graphic reminders were racist and overtly offensive images appearing on some of the most popular food brands. Uncle Ben’s Rice is one. Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Mix is another. A third is Cream of Wheat. While working at the Saturday Evening Post, Norman Rockwell was among the many talented artists “under orders (from Mr. Lorimer) to paint African Americans only as servants” (Schorr, 1999, p. 97). Portraits of blacks appearing happy, fearful, or just grateful to be of service to white America, are reflected in a number of Rockwell’s paintings, including He Went ThatAway, The Full Treatment, New York Central Diner, and Love Ouanga. However, after leaving the Post, and “its cheery world of middleclass white America,” Rockwell was hired by Look magazine where he was encouraged to focus on contemporary and often controversial social and political issues. And, no where is this better expressed than in his painting about social segregation (The Problem We All Live With); desegregation (New Kids in the Neighborhood); bloodshed in Mississippi (Southern Justice); world friendship and Peace (The Peace Corp); do unto others (The Golden Rule); and The Rights to Know. Although Look magazine commissioned Rockwell to paint 30 illustrations involving contemporary social comment, this gallery exhibition contains some of his most memorable images of African Americans.
Gallery 6: The Civil Rights Movement
African Americans have always fought for civil rights by resisting slavery and later their second-class citizenship. While opposition took many forms, including passive resistance, slave revolts, escaping to freedom, the abolitionist movement, and even fighting in the Civil War, many African Americans were willing to risk their lives for justice, equality, and of course - freedom. The modern Civil Rights Movement, which peaked from 1955-1965, was simply a continuation of the struggle that began during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. And yet, this movement inspired millions of blacks to dream that America, one of the greatest nations on earth, can truly be an oasis of freedom and social justice. More importantly, the modern Civil Rights movement created a new racial consciousness whereby African Americans sought to better understand and express their cultural heritage, history, and sense of identity. This gallery exhibition recounts the details and drama of the modern Civil Rights Movement and the continued struggle for social equality and justice in America.
Gallery 7: Words of Encouragement - Least we forget the past
Throughout the Afrocentric Experience, there have been various leaders, both black and white, who have done much to make this a culturally diverse, compassionate and prosperous nation. So, as we conclude this journey back through time, let us not forget the many dynamic people and historical events that helped to shape the African American experience and to transform a nation through unity, strength, and determination.
Footprints in Time
A crucial theme of this exhibition is movement” which is at the heart of the Afrocentric experience. Thus, connecting each of the historical periods in this gallery exhibition are “Footprints in Time.” In accordance with ancient Egyptian mythology, each footprint is color coded with its own intrinsic symbolic meaning. For example, the color yellow (khenet, kenit), which represented both the sun and gold, shared qualities of being imperishable, eternal and indestructible. In this exhibition, yellow reflects the enduring greatness of the ancient Egyptian civilizations as represented by the great kings and queens of Africa.
Egyptian Blue (irtiu, sbedj) symbolically represents the sky and water. Blue is also the symbol of the Nile. In this exhibition, blue represents the journey of slave ships across the Atlantic Ocean, and through the Middle Passage, accounting for the Diaspora of millions of Africans to the Americas.
In addition to representing death and the night, Egyptian mythology asserts that Black (kem) was also a natural symbol of the underworld and of resurrection. In this exhibition, black symbolizes the millions of African slaves who died on the journey through the Middle Passage and in the Americas. However, black is also used to symbolize the resurrection that occurred on slave plantations as African Americans, stripped of their identity and heritage, taught themselves a new language, practiced new art forms, and played a new kind of music that enabled them to endure the horrors of slavery.
In Egyptian Mythology, red (desher) is the color of life and of victory. Egyptian red was also a symbol of anger and fire. A person who acted “with a red heart” was filled with rage or evil depending on the context in which he is portrayed. In this exhibition, red represents the Jim Crow Era, and the systematic racial hatred, violent attacks, and continued vilification of Africans and ‘blackness’ - patterns and images that can be traced directly back to the institution of slavery.
Green (wadj) was the color of vegetation and new life. To do “green things” was slang for beneficial, lifeproducing behavior, and re-birth. In this exhibition, green symbolizes the rebirth or the identity transformation that occurred throughout the modern Civil Rights Movement as there developed, within the black community, a new racial consciousness and a desire for African Americans to better understand and express their cultural heritage, history and the true roots of their identity. Finally, the colorful footprints that connect this gallery exhibition return to Egyptian yellow (khenet, kenit) leading a path back to greatness.
Last Updated On: 10/30/06
