It's a fairly new museum, and so it's not as filled out as it could be, but it's pretty cool none the less. The building is spiffy, with a huge glassed dome over the atrium. It's mirrored on the inside, so when you look up, you see bunches of reflections of the visitors. Large, bright, well made.
The museum had a special exhibit focusing on the American history of lynching. It seems that those people who participated in this wretched activity liked to document it with photographs, which were then sold to the crowd/participants who often mailed them to family and friends with notes regarding who was being lynched, why, and, occasionally who was responsible for the act. Even beyond the bodies -naked, burned, scarred, mutilated or raped- it was the faces of the crowd, looking toward the camera, smiling, proud, pleased, convinced of the appropriateness of their deed, that tore at my heart. I just cannot fathom how any human could be so cruel to another human, often repeatedly, and be so unaffected as to want photos of the event.
The other main section of the museum was a walking timeline, starting with ancient Africa and the first tribes of people. According to them, all humans share a piece of mitochondrial DNA that traces back to one woman in Africa. So, we really are all sisters. From Africa, they show migration patterns, tribes, trade routes and the birth of slavery. As slavery builds, the visitor sees the holding cells in the forts, the boat and travelling conditions, and life upon arrival in America. Significant people and events, especially Detroit-based events and people, are highlighted until modern day. It was really fun and interesting to have the interactive tour, as opposed to just seeing artifacts and placards on the walls.
The only part of the museum that I was really disappointed with was the last section, the one about the role of African Americans in the progression of music. There were paintings with large cards next to them describing the types of music (jazz, blues, r&b, hip hop, etc.) and the African roots of that music. When you think of it, the role is just huge, amazingly significant, undeniable. But, there were... 8 paintings? It was so brief, that I don't think credit was properly given. You could make an entire museum dedicated to the evolution of music...
...oh, wait... Been there.... the Experience Music Project in Seattle, WA. Now that was a hip museum..!
1 comment:
It's gotta be more than just seeing blacks as less than human -consider animal cruelty and those that torture dogs and cats. They are clearly less than human, but the deeds still make me ill.
And then, I guess it comes back to that old question of why bible thumpers are the first (and most ready?) to throw the stones.
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