A Changing America 1968 and Beyond
"A Changing America 1968 and Beyond" is one of the exhibitions of the The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). NMAAHC is located on 14th Street and Northwest Constitution Street in the National Mall. This four-story museum opened on 24 September 2016 and becoming the first national museum devoted to the documentation of the life, heritage and culture of African Americans. The Smithsonian Institution Museum is an architectural marvel containing a variety of immersive exhibitions..[1]
The ever-changing United States examines contemporary black life through stories of African Americans' physical, technological, political, and cultural interactions. From the death of Martin Luther King, Obama’s second election has wide coverage. Large graphics and original artifacts lead visitors from Black Arts Movement to Hip Hop, Black Panthers to "Yes We Can", and Black is Beautiful to #BlackLivesMatter. [2]
History and Collection
This exhibition reveals the influence of African Americans on American society, the economy, politics, and the death of Martin Luther King, with President Obama's second election history. Topics include black art movements, hip hop, black panthers, the rise of the black middle class and the recent #BlackLivesMatter movement. The exhibition includes several parts, focusing on the black power era in the 1960s and 70s, black studies in universities, racial dynamics in cities and suburbs, and the changing role of the black middle class. At 1968 was seen as a turning point in the modern movement for democracy and equality, it also featuring items such as the decorated plywood of Resurrection City, the poster of "Secretary of Defense Huey Newton" and the hand-made banners of the 2008 presidential election.[3]
The exhibition is divided into two areas and organized around the famous saying of labor and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph: "Freedom is never given, it is won". To the left of the quotes is the distant declaration of slavery and emancipation. The history on the right is the recent history, the March in Washington, so visitors there will look for opportunities to try to find faces.[4]
Exhibition Experience
In this exhibition we can also experience and know the story of :
The Black Power Era: The 1960s and ‘70sThe Movement Marches OnThe Black Studies Movement and The Black Museum MovementShifting Landscapes: Cities and SuburbsDecades of Paradox and Promise (1970-2015)[5]
Review
“It is a continuation of the black liberation movement. The black freedom struggle of which the modern civil rights movement was also a part. It’s not some foreign entity, it’s part and parcel of that movement,” (Bill Pretzer, the co-curated the exhibition)[6]
The reviewer also believe that the "Black Power" movement has inspired the pride of the African American community, as well as pride in self and appearance. The word "Black is Beautiful" is printed on the wall in bold bold letters, and next to it is the image of an African-American woman in the same bold. This is an example of the developing "black aesthetics" born in this era.
“There was an idea that African-Americans needed to conform in terms of their appearance to standards of beauty that did not validate what many of them looked like. So black aesthetic, broadly speaking, was a way to value style, features, hair, clothing, things that African-Americans were making decisions about,” (Wilkinson, the curator)[7]
External Link
More about the exhibiton here
Reference
- ↑ Discover rich and essential African American history at this free Smithsonian museum on the National Mall. Washington. Retrieved January 26, 2021
- ↑ A CHANGING AMERICA 1968 and BEYOND.Nmaahc.si.edu. Retrieved January 26, 2021
- ↑ A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond. Si.edu. Retrieved January 26, 2021
- ↑ Lonnae O'Neal Parker. Changing America’ exhibit explores America’s press for freedom for blacks. December 13, 2012. Washingtonpost. Retrieved January 26, 2021
- ↑ A CHANGING AMERICA 1968 and BEYOND.Nmaahc.si.edu. Retrieved January 26, 2021
- ↑ Katie Nodjimbadem. The Sounds and Images of Black Power Take Center Stage in This Post-Civil Rights Exhibition. OCTOBER 6, 2016. www.Smithsonianmag.com. January 26, 2021
- ↑ Katie Nodjimbadem. The Sounds and Images of Black Power Take Center Stage in This Post-Civil Rights Exhibition. OCTOBER 6, 2016. www.Smithsonianmag.com. January 26, 2021