Abstract
How are African American culture and history displayed in museums? My paper examines whether African American history, as represented at the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, followed narratives that upheld White supremacy and hegemonic ideologies, like protecting “White fragility,” or created counternarratives that went against the White hegemonic idea. I focus on museum representations of African American history after the Enslavement period, from the Reconstruction period onward. Based on ethnographic interviews with curatorial staff at a variety of African American museums alongside in-person museum visits and visual analysis, I argue that several themes emerge around the representation of African American history: first, that African American experiences and identity are not monolithic; second, many exhibitions have elected to focus on regional history and how it connects to the overall history, in part to illustrate the specificity of context and dismantle the myth of the monolith; and finally, that curators intended that their exhibitions would empower and educate. Many of my interlocutors expressed that they had not intended to pursue museum work but were drawn to the opportunity to represent their community and understood museum work to be about empowering the African American community. I visited museums to see if displays about African American culture reflected what my interlocutors told me. These themes that I have learned from my interviews and visual analysis indicate that curators and exhibitions use these tactics to engage in principles integral to Critical Race Theory: illuminate inequality, name inequality, and establish new protocols to create/restore justice (Moore 2021).
Advisor
Derderian, Beth
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Funchess, Anailah, "In the Spotlight or In the Wings? Looking at African American Culture and History in Museums" (2023). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 10542.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/10542
Disciplines
Africana Studies | Museum Studies | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Social Justice
Keywords
Afro-American History, Critical Race Theory (CRT), Empowerment, Museums, Narratives, Perception
Publication Date
2023
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2023 Anailah Funchess