"How the Word is Passed:" Collection Talk

ONLINE ART TALK

Thursday, April 27, 12:30-1PM CT, ZOOM Webinar, Free

Continue the conversation on Clint Smith's How the Word Is Passed with this lunchtime collection talk.

In this online series, Block Museum curatorial staff consider works from the museum collection that reckon with the history of slavery, white supremacy, symbols of nationhood, and social inequity.  This program is held in connection with 2022–23 One Book One Northwestern (OBON) selection How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith and presented by the Block Museum in partnership with The Alumnae of Northwestern University. 

This collection talk led by Melanie Garcia Sympson, Curatorial Coordinator for Collections Information and Digital Interpretation, will focus on an untitled vernacular photograph of the Lincoln Memorial, ca.1960s. 

"In this personal snapshot circa 1960, two stylish women stand in front of the statue of Lincoln. One looks up at the monument, while the other looks at the camera. Seeing the photograph from the 21st century, the viewer wonders what the visitors might have taken away from their obligatory pilgrimage. In How the Word Is Passed, Clint Smith reminds us that our stories of the history of slavery are often limited and one-dimensional. As Smith explains, Lincoln had a complicated outlook and his 'commitment to ending slavery was not necessarily matched by a commitment to Black equality.' "
– Melanie Garcia Sympson, Curatorial Coordinator, Collections Information and Digital Interpretation

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Presented by in conjunction with One Book One Northwestern, with support of the Alumnae of Northwestern University