Grand Valley State University will be the first venue to host a powerful new traveling exhibit generated from Ferris State University's Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia.
"Them: Images of Separation" explores the subjugation of women, poor whites, gays, Jewish Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and others. It tackles some of the most contentious, cultural hot-button issues today.
The exhibition runs from February 12-March 21, in the GVSU Art Gallery, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus. An opening reception in the gallery is planned from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, February 15.
Also on February 15, a special exhibition lecture by David Pilgrim, professor of social sciences and curator of the Jim Crow Museum will be from 4-5 p.m. in the Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center. The lecture is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Housing and Residence Life and the GVSU Art Gallery. Call (616) 331-2564 or visit www.gvsu.edu/artgallery.
"The exhibition not only serves as a powerful reminder of America's racist past, but also presents contemporary images of racial and ethnic stereotyping that might otherwise go unchallenged," said Pilgrim. "I'm hoping 'Them' illustrates that discrimination and stereotyping are not just black/white issues -- it's more pervasive that that."
Pilgrim, who is also chief diversity officer at Ferris, founded the Jim Crow Museum by donating his personal lifetime collection of racist memorabilia. Today the collection contains more than 5,000 pieces. "The Jim Crow Museum was founded on the belief that open, honest, even painful discussions about race are necessary to avoid yesterday's mistakes," said Pilgrim.
The museum's first traveling exhibit, "Hateful Things," focused on images demeaning to African Americans. Bonnie Marshall, who saw it in 2001, remembers "it made a very large impact." Marshall, who teaches in the Liberal Studies program at Grand Valley, began to use the exhibition's online tour in her "Diversity in the U.S." class.
She often wondered if it would be possible to bring the exhibit to Grand Valley. The idea began to take shape after meeting with Henry Matthews, GVSU's director of galleries and collections. Oliver Wilson, dean of Multicultural Affairs was also involved early on. The collaborative project, with representatives from many key areas of the campus community, saw an opportunity to build on an important message.
"Hateful Things" focused solely on African Americans, while "Them" was designed to incorporate many different groups of people. Both exhibitions promote understanding and healing through the examination of demeaning and stereotypical items from popular culture.
"We use objects that are already out there, though many people may not understand or recognize that they are demeaning," said Pilgrim. "It creates fertile ground for discussion of historical and contemporary messages."
More than 30 items in "Them" illustrate the blatant intolerance of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and anti-Semitic factions as well as the less obvious slurs found in advertisements and on contemporary license plates or implied in school mascot characters.
"Our goal, like that of the exhibition, is to use items of intolerance to teach tolerance," said Matthews.
GVSU Art Gallery hours are Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. All Grand Valley art exhibits, lectures and receptions are free and open to the public. For more information call the Gallery at (616) 331-2564 or visit www.gvsu.edu/artgallery.
For more information about the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, visit www.ferris.edu/jimcrow. Images of exhibition items are also available at this site.
