The Black radical tradition of hope
I
am constantly asking myself these questions: Why does the
decolonization of museums matter? Why do I continue to visit these
colonized spaces knowing they rest comfortably in their resistance to
change? I see museums as liminal spaces. The word “liminal”
comes from the Latin root, limen, which means “threshold.” The liminal
space is the “crossing over” where you have left something behind, yet
you are not yet fully in something else. When museums operate in their
full liminal potential they are able to tell non-binary histories. For
US museums this means acknowledging colonialism, imperialism and white
supremacy while also striving towards a decolonialized future.
While
I’m not certain all institutions have this potential, I believe art and
cultural institutions do because many of their mission statements
already lean in this direction—but too often they do not have the
internal institutional courage to move from polite social justice talk
to radical decolonized action. This is why it is critical that the
public continue to apply pressure to power, so institutional leaders do
not become complacent or complicit. I stand in the Black radical
tradition of hope. I believe it is possible for art institutions to
serve as a zone between the “what was” and “ the next.”
What was, is a dark history of colonization and human exploitation.
The next, is a decolonized world. It is coming whether the keepers of colonization want it or not.
Think so?
absolute power depends on absolute control over knowledge, which in turn necessitates absolute corruption
Think about this
“Politicians, Priests, and psychiatrists often face the same problem: how to find the most rapid and permanent means of changing a man’s belief…The problem of the doctor and his nervously ill patient, and that of the religious leader who sets out to gain and hold new converts, has now become the problem of whole groups of nations, who wish not only to confirm certain political beliefs within their boundaries, but to proselytize the outside world.”
– William Sargant “Battle of the Mind”
Popular posts from this blog
Here is where you can find us: https://thebigisms.wordpress.com/2020/11/29/my-white-friend-asked-me-on-facebook-to-explain-white-privilege-i-decided-to-be-honest-yes-magazine/ (we will leave this blog up since there is so much history to read and consider.)
The truth about Jackson’s savagery was just as disturbing as the fake news. After a particularly bloody battle in 1814, Andrew Jackson’s men counted the dead Indians by cutting off their noses. They collected 557 noses. and... (this comment) Jackson ran an ad in the Nashville Gazette, in October, 1804, for the capture of a runaway slave, which stated that in addition to the reward, he would pay an extra $10 per 100 lashes (up to 300), to anyone who willing to inflict them upon his miscreant property. He was known to hold a vengeful lifetime grudge against anyone whom he felt had slighted him, regardless of how minor the supposed offense. His betrayal the Choctow tribe, whom he persuaded to become American allies over the British during the war of 1812, culminated in the “Indian Removal Act” (Trail of Tears), of which he took personal responsiblity to see implemented, resulted in the death of thousands of men, women and children. It’s no surprise that the current occupant of the Wh
There is another blog to read news and history: THE BIG ISMS on wordpress
Comments