Black History month is around the corner and a few local museums have recently opened exhibits catered to the history of influential figures who helped shape a diverse society for today. Here are a few of the exhibits.
MSU Museum:
Local museums to feature exhibits for Black History month
Ruby Bridges, Brown v. Board of Education, and The Greater Lansing Sites of Conscience Project:.
On display through July 3
This exhibit will highlight the life of Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old girl who was the first to integrate a New Orleans elementary school after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. This decision desegregated public schools.
The exhibit holds a quilt made in tribute to Bridges and also has further information on who Bridges was and why she is an important historical figure.
Also, The Greater Lansing Sites of Conscience Project is asking local residents to help research and map places that mark social justice and human rights history on campus and in the Lansing area. These will be compiled for a web project that will live on after the exhibit closes.
Ahmed “Kathy” Kathrada: A South African Activist for Non-Racialism and Democracy:
Running through April 13
This exhibits highlights the late Nelson Mandela’s prison mate, Ahmed “Kathy” Kathrada. Kathrada was an advocate for freedom in South Africa and for non-racialism and democracy throughout the world.
Kathrada was arrested in 1963 along with eight friends and fellow activists Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. He spent 26 years in prison. In 1994, Kathrada went on to serve as Mandela’s parliamentary counselor in the Parliament of South Africa.
Visitors will experience a replica of Kathrada’s tiny jail cell on the notorious Robben Island prison along with the few items he was allowed during his many years locked up.
The MSU Museum curator of cultural heritage, Mary Worrall, said both of the new exhibits are meant to give students visual insight into the lives of historical people that shaped our society, while also shedding light on the ongoing 60/50 project.
Residential College in the Arts and Humanities- LookOut! Gallery
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Running through Feb. 14
Through the use of drawing, painting, sculpture, sound, video and performance, artist Tomashi Jackson highlights personal and public histories of international black experiences.
Jackson’s themes include value, visibility and labor.
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