Concurrent Session 3-D

Location

Bryant Hall, Room 209

Start Date

15-3-2025 9:00 AM

End Date

15-3-2025 10:45 AM

Description

  • Unmasked: Curating an Antilynching Exhibition
    Alex Lichtenstein, Professor of American Studies, Indiana University
    Ever since the controversial display of lynching postcards in the Without Sanctuary exhibition a quarter century ago, artists, photographers, curators, historians, and art historians have confronted the ethics of how to visually represent lynching and racist violence, or whether to exhibit it at all. As Leigh Radford has pointedly asked, “When does visual representation of Black death become a spectacle for uncritical or merely aesthetic consumption and when does it serve efforts toward justice?” This workshop presentation pursues this question by sharing my own collaborative curatorial experience with an anti-lynching art exhibition, Unmasked: Anti-Lynching Art and Community Remembrance in Indiana. My co-curators and I sought to join an emerging conversation about memory and racial justice on a local level in Indiana, as well as nationally. We did so by producing a travelling art installation that engaged the public in a discussion about the history and impact of lynching and racial violence. Like similar efforts in Mississippi, in Alabama (the Equal Justice Initiative in particular), and elsewhere, our project seeks remembrance as a means of empowerment, reconciliation, and potential restitution. Unmasked reimagines two historic exhibitions held in 1935 with the goal of passing antilynching legislation during the New Deal. At the time, these displays spoke to competing notions of the political function of critical artworks, one sponsored by the Communist Party, the by the NAACP. We juxtapose these works with an infamous and widely circulated photograph of an Indiana lynching. In considering this photograph as an artifact and documentation of a lynching, Unmasked examines how artists and journalists have drawn on and revised this image to shift focus from victims to perpetrators.
  • Honoring the Legacy of the Global Cotton Kingdom
    C. Sade Turnipseed, Assistant Professor of History, Jackson State University
    The International Cotton Pickers’ UNITE Movement (ICPUM), spearheaded by Khafre, Inc., seeks to fill a glaring historical void: the absence of a monument or dedicated space to honor Cotton Pickers, Sharecroppers, and Textile Workers whose labor underpinned the prosperity of nations like the United States and Britain. These unsung heroes were instrumental in the establishment of the ""Cotton Kingdom,"" which catalyzed economic empires across the globe. Despite their contributions—ranging from the fertile fields of West Africa to the Mississippi Delta and the textile mills of Manchester—there remains no global recognition of their enduring legacy. ICPUM envisions addressing this oversight by developing Monuments, Museums, Interpretive Centers, and an International Historic Cotton Trail. This trail will retrace the Triangular Trade Route in reverse, symbolizing a reclamation of history and dignity. Since 2009, Dr. C. Sade Turnipseed and Khafre, Inc. have passionately championed this initiative. Notable supporters, including Maya Angelou and B.B. King, have lent their voices to the movement, reinforcing its importance. The proposed project will honor the resilience and sacrifices of cotton pickers through educational programs, economic development initiatives, and storytelling. This conference proposal outlines a transformative presentation that combines storytelling, music, and visuals to shine a light on the lives of those who worked ""from kin to kain’t"" yet received little acknowledgment. By equipping attendees with knowledge and actionable tools, the ICPUM aims to inspire collective action and global recognition for these National Heroes. Join this monumental movement to finally honor the labor and sacrifices of these individuals. Together, let us build a legacy of gratitude, justice, and remembrance for the Heroes of the Cotton Kingdom. Join Us in Saying “Thank You” by joining this monumental MOVEMENT to remember and honor the true Heroes of the Cotton Kingdom, and those who made America rich … Grandmama’nem!
  • Chair: Angela Crouse, Adjunct Instructor of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi

Relational Format

Conference proceeding

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Mar 15th, 9:00 AM Mar 15th, 10:45 AM

Concurrent Session 3-D

Bryant Hall, Room 209

  • Unmasked: Curating an Antilynching Exhibition
    Alex Lichtenstein, Professor of American Studies, Indiana University
    Ever since the controversial display of lynching postcards in the Without Sanctuary exhibition a quarter century ago, artists, photographers, curators, historians, and art historians have confronted the ethics of how to visually represent lynching and racist violence, or whether to exhibit it at all. As Leigh Radford has pointedly asked, “When does visual representation of Black death become a spectacle for uncritical or merely aesthetic consumption and when does it serve efforts toward justice?” This workshop presentation pursues this question by sharing my own collaborative curatorial experience with an anti-lynching art exhibition, Unmasked: Anti-Lynching Art and Community Remembrance in Indiana. My co-curators and I sought to join an emerging conversation about memory and racial justice on a local level in Indiana, as well as nationally. We did so by producing a travelling art installation that engaged the public in a discussion about the history and impact of lynching and racial violence. Like similar efforts in Mississippi, in Alabama (the Equal Justice Initiative in particular), and elsewhere, our project seeks remembrance as a means of empowerment, reconciliation, and potential restitution. Unmasked reimagines two historic exhibitions held in 1935 with the goal of passing antilynching legislation during the New Deal. At the time, these displays spoke to competing notions of the political function of critical artworks, one sponsored by the Communist Party, the by the NAACP. We juxtapose these works with an infamous and widely circulated photograph of an Indiana lynching. In considering this photograph as an artifact and documentation of a lynching, Unmasked examines how artists and journalists have drawn on and revised this image to shift focus from victims to perpetrators.
  • Honoring the Legacy of the Global Cotton Kingdom
    C. Sade Turnipseed, Assistant Professor of History, Jackson State University
    The International Cotton Pickers’ UNITE Movement (ICPUM), spearheaded by Khafre, Inc., seeks to fill a glaring historical void: the absence of a monument or dedicated space to honor Cotton Pickers, Sharecroppers, and Textile Workers whose labor underpinned the prosperity of nations like the United States and Britain. These unsung heroes were instrumental in the establishment of the ""Cotton Kingdom,"" which catalyzed economic empires across the globe. Despite their contributions—ranging from the fertile fields of West Africa to the Mississippi Delta and the textile mills of Manchester—there remains no global recognition of their enduring legacy. ICPUM envisions addressing this oversight by developing Monuments, Museums, Interpretive Centers, and an International Historic Cotton Trail. This trail will retrace the Triangular Trade Route in reverse, symbolizing a reclamation of history and dignity. Since 2009, Dr. C. Sade Turnipseed and Khafre, Inc. have passionately championed this initiative. Notable supporters, including Maya Angelou and B.B. King, have lent their voices to the movement, reinforcing its importance. The proposed project will honor the resilience and sacrifices of cotton pickers through educational programs, economic development initiatives, and storytelling. This conference proposal outlines a transformative presentation that combines storytelling, music, and visuals to shine a light on the lives of those who worked ""from kin to kain’t"" yet received little acknowledgment. By equipping attendees with knowledge and actionable tools, the ICPUM aims to inspire collective action and global recognition for these National Heroes. Join this monumental movement to finally honor the labor and sacrifices of these individuals. Together, let us build a legacy of gratitude, justice, and remembrance for the Heroes of the Cotton Kingdom. Join Us in Saying “Thank You” by joining this monumental MOVEMENT to remember and honor the true Heroes of the Cotton Kingdom, and those who made America rich … Grandmama’nem!
  • Chair: Angela Crouse, Adjunct Instructor of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi