For much of my youth education I was taught about slavery and the civil rights movement as a time through which the black population in this country suffered. Black history in America seems to be one riddled with anger, frustration and oppression. Textbooks and teachers explain black history with a heavy heart and tell tales of abuse and white-man dominance. As I traveled to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia these were my expectations, but I was to be very wrong.
Tucked away on the back roads down by VCU is a small row home that houses one of the few repositories for visual, oral and written records of the black experience, as stated by the museum. It is completely unassuming and it would be easy to stroll by without ever knowing it contained such a rich story of the city’s past.
Entering the row home you are quickly greeted by an employee and led to a small bench where a ten minute video is played to introduce you to the content and purpose of the museum. The video explains the creation and development of the Jackson Ward, which the video said was one of the first settlements for black people. Although the museum says it covers the black experience in Richmond from 1700 through the 1970s, you quickly learn what the exhibits are going to highlight based on the video. Of the ten minute video, 9 minutes and 50 seconds were spent recreating the golden years of the 1940s and 1950s in the Jackson Ward. This tunnel vision view of the Jackson Ward is continued all throughout the museum.
Although there isn’t a written statement about the purpose of the museum anywhere in the actual museum, the brochure gives many blurbs about what the museum is looking to accomplish.
“Today, the museum is a celebration of the human spirit and a testament to what people can achieve when they are faced with adversity.”
This quote is important because it sets the mood for many of the exhibits. I was expecting my time at the museum to be full of sorrow and anger at the sad history of the black experience in Richmond, but the overwhelming sense I got as I walked through the exhibits was that it was a highlight reel of the black experience. Some of the titles of the exhibits were “United We Stand,” “Champion of the People,” “Independent Business Owners,” Strengthening the Black Dollar,” “Birthplace of Black Capitalism.” There was an impressive sense of black pride and independence that I wasn’t expecting when I first arrived.
The overarching question I think the exhibit is addressing is: what was life like during the glory days of the Jackson Ward? Although I doubt that is what the museum wants the visitor to believe because it is said to cover more than 200 years of history, there is so much emphasis put on this time period that the exhibits seems only to produce one feeling during one chunk of time.
The museum is very simply organized and easily navigated. Because it is a row home, it is rather small. It is a two story building that features a constant exhibit downstairs and a rotating exhibition system upstairs. The right side of the first floor is the front desk and gift shop, leaving the left half of the downstairs for the actual exhibits. The initial exhibits set up the clear theme of black success and establish the sense that the Jackson Ward was the place to be for black people. Throughout the explanations on the walls of the artifacts featured, the Jackson Ward area is referred to as “The Black Mecca,” “Little Africa,” “The Harlem of the South,” “The Golden Era.”
Every exhibit in the museum glorifies the black experience. Rarely are there references to hardships or struggles past a fleeting mention of segregation or Jim Crow laws. In fact, the Jim Crow laws and segregation are displayed as the catalysts for the boom of the Jackson Ward. “A city within a city” was created from the separation of whites and blacks. Instead of showing the troubles, the exhibits feature the independence earned. I think this is indeed an area of great concern because if I didn’t know more about Jim Crow laws and how degrading this time was, I wouldn’t think it was all that bad. They are doing a huge disservice to the community by downplaying such a horrific time.
The 1920 census found that 93% of Richmond’s African American population lived in Jackson Ward. The video and exhibits center on this population and tell the story of a very active and high-energy area. Restaurants, flower shops, barber shops, real estate agencies, all owned by black people were the core of the exhibitions. The 1950s were a time when all black people wanted to be on 2nd Street because of the parties, entertainment, music, theaters and drinking that was going on. Celebrities like Willie Mays and Joe Lewis frequented the area and soldiers from all over the country poured in to get in on the action of Jackson Ward. This is the story of the museum. The exhibits were about black independence and business ownership, parties, schools and successful black people.
It is clear the museum’s goal is to celebrate the success of black people and recreate a time that was lively and free, but I think this is a dangerous goal. The museum is so heavily and obviously focusing on such a limited time frame it is impossible to believe this is what the black experience in Richmond was like. Nowhere is there the story of hard times or unfair treatment. Any type of confrontation or dark spot is quickly noted then passed and overshadowed by an achievement. Although I can understand the desire to portray such a vibrant time in the city’s past, I just cannot understand how the museum can show so little toward the greater history of the black population.
No comments:
Post a Comment