DETROIT (WXYZ) — A traveling exhibit from Ferris State University's Jim Crow Museum of Racist Imagery will open Monday at the Wayne County Community College Districtin Downtown Detroit.
The exhibit is called Overcoming Hateful Things: Stories from the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Imagery." It uses hundreds of artifacts from the period to explore the Jim Crow system, the African American experience during that era and its legacy in contemporary society.
"The traveling exhibition contains over 150 items of material culture from the late 19th century to the present, embodying the terrible effects of the Jim Crow legacy. In addition to items from popular and commercial culture, the traveling exhibit contains images of violence against African Americans as well as the Civil Rights activists struggling for racial equality. Signage for each primary source places it in its proper cultural or historical context," Ferris State's Jim Crow Museum of Racist Imagery said.
"The disturbing objects have been lifted from their original purposes to now serve as powerful reminders of America's racist past—and as teaching tools. But more importantly, Hateful Things acquaints viewers with African American pushback, through activism, achievement, and living with dignity in their daily lives."
The exhibit is free and open to the public and will be on available Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
"Hateful Things will cultivate understanding and empathy for victims of racial intolerance throughout history to the modern day and allow visitors to bear witness to the need to guard against the dehumanizing characterizations of others, so they do not become further culturally entrenched," the Jim Crow Museum said.
WCCCD’s Curtis L. Ivery Downtown Campus is located at 1001 West Fort Street in Detroit.
