Museums and Memorials Causing Contention
by Jackie Jordan HN 300: Art, Politics & Social Justice (Dr McEvoy-Levy) 17 March 2019 While exploring some of the museums and memorials in Alabama dedicated to the history of the Civil Rights Movement, it became clear how politically contentious civil rights issues can be. This fact extends to museums and memorials about countless other topics around the world. By looking at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Legacy Museum, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, it is evident that many museums and memorials are politically contentious because they force people to face events in history that make them uncomfortable, and because the museums themselves can often have a controversial past. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is a memorial created by the Equal Justice Initiative that acknowledges the history of lynchings in the United States. As one travels throughout the memorial, there are many disturbing images seen and horrifying words read. The very first thing experienced in the memorial is a wall that details a brief history of lynching in the United States. Part of this reads “Lynchings in America were not isolated hate crimes committed by rogue vigilantes. Lynchings were targeted racial violence perpetrated to uphold an unjust social order. Lynchings were terrorism.” This is a very powerful and contentious statement. Terrorism is an extremely emotional and intense topic, particularly in 21st century America. Meanwhile, lynching is typically considered and taught as something far in our past, and nearly irrelevant to today’s issues. To make a direct comparison between these issues forces the average person to recognize the reality of the United States’ history with lynching, and allows one to understand the topic in a more modern context. However, since terrorism is such a hot button issue, comparing it to lynching could likely spark intense debates and discomfort. Furthermore, as one continues along this wall containing powerful analyses of lynching, there is a group of statues of slaves. These statues depict people in chains, many of them crying out and struggling to be free, covered in rust or blood from their shackles. Most of these statues have looks of indescribable anguish, pain, and suffering, that bore right into the viewer’s soul. These statues expand upon the facts given along the wall and within the rest of the memorial, and the images stay with the viewer as a reminder of the faces behind the names and dates. The lasting discomfort provoked by these statues could be contentious, for they can be considered graphic and disturbing, but they truly allow for deeper understanding of the rest of the memorial. Further in the memorial there are known reasons for lynchings listed, including annoying a white woman, knocking on a white woman’s door, walking behind a white woman, not allowing a white man to beat him in a fight, and countless more (Equal Justice Initiative). These trivial reasons for murder are heart-wrenching, especially when reminded of the faces of those statues at the entrance of the memorial. As a whole, the memorial has the potential to generate a large amount of discomfort in many people. This can make it politically contentious because more often than not, people fight intensely against the things that make them uncomfortable. The Legacy Museum is on the site of a former slave warehouse in Montgomery, and it describes the history of African Americans in the United States, “from enslavement to mass incarceration” (“Legacy Museum”). There are many aspects of the museum that can create discomfort in people who visit, as the museum addresses some of the most sensitive topics in our nation’s history. One of the first experiences a visitor to the museum has is seeing and hearing holograms of slaves behind bars. There are two little boys crying out for their mother, a mother calling out for her children, a woman singing a haunting song, and more. This immediately provokes the emotions of the visitor, and created a deep sadness and guilt within me personally. This powerful beginning sets the mood for the next part of the museum, which is a wall covered with information detailing the evolution of the criminalization of African Americans, “from enslavement to mass incarceration” (“Legacy Museum”). On this wall, specific politicians and their policies are critized for their impact on this horrifying succession. This includes the role of the “War on Drugs,” the development of the term “superpredator,” and the politicians that were associated with these terms. These are two very clearly contentious issues relating to the history of African Americans in the United States, and people feel very passionately one way or another about the politicians that started these issues. Seeing someone that has been portrayed as a hero either by family members or popular media get criticized can create a large amount of discomfort in someone. I know that I felt this way when I first saw a video clip of Hillary Clinton using the term “superpredator.” She was someone I had revered for a long time, and having my idealized image of her disproved caused a lot of contention, confusion, and discomfort for me personally. Another way in which the Legacy Museum can be politically contentious because of discomfort is through the powerful statistics about topics like wrongful convictions and children convicted as adults. For example, there are over 10,000 children today housed in adult prisons or jails. Furthermore, there are 3,000 children serving life or life without parole sentences (Equal Justice Initiative). The Legacy Museum is filled with haunting statistics and testimonials that pound the terrifying truth of the criminalization of African Americans in the United States into every visitor. These facts and stories can create deep discomfort in the average person. They can also instill a feeling of extreme guilt in white visitors. This discomfort and guilt can make people want to fight against the museum and the message it is giving off, which leads to contention. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is politically contentious in a different way than the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum. While it does still address very sensitive topics that can cause discomfort, the USHMM also has a somewhat disputable history. One primary reason for the controversy behind this museum is that many people believe the USHMM makes the tragedy of the Holocaust into a scene from a Hollywood movie. It is argued that the memorial museum Americanized the Holocaust, and has even been compared to a theme park because of how experiential the museum is (Sodaro). Furthermore, the only reason that the USHMM exists is because President Carter wanted the Jewish vote, as there was perceived to be a lack of support by him for Israel (Sodaro). These are only two of the issues that caused controversy around the conception and implementation of the USHMM. Overall, it is clear there is a contentious history behind one of the most popular museums in Washington D.C. Issues of civil rights can be extremely contentious for a number of reasons. Often, they cause great discomfort in people, as they remind everyone of a time in history most people would rather forget about. The museums and memorials dedicated to these issues can be just as controversial with their pasts. These feelings of contention spark emotions in people that can make them fight against these museums and memorials, and make the sites political. But despite the discomfort and contention, these issues are crucial to face, for learning about our traumatic past is one of the most important things that can help guide us to a more positive future. Works Cited “Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration.” Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Equal Justice Initiative, museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum. Sodaro, Amy. Exhibiting Atrocity: Memorial Museums and the Politics of Past Violence. Rutgers University Press, 2018. “The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.” Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Equal Justice Initiative, museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial. Comments are closed.
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