Race

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An NAACP flyer campaigning for the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 1922, but was filibustered to defeat in the Senate. Dyer, the NAACP, and freedom fighters around the country, like Flossie Baily, struggled for years to get the Dyer and other anti-lynching bills passed, to no avail. Today there is still no U.S. law specifically against lynching. In 2005, eighty of the 100 U.S. Senators voted for a resolution to apologize to victims' families and the country for their failure to outlaw lynching. Courtesy of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Some Exhibits to Come – One Hundred Years of Jim Crow
Mammy Statue JC Museum Ferris
Bibliography – One Hundred Years Of Jim Crow
Claude, age 23, just months before his 1930 murder. Courtesy of Faith Deeter.
Freedom’s Heroes During Jim Crow: Flossie Bailey and the Deeters
Souvenir Portrait of the Lynching of Abram Smith and Thomas Shipp, August 7, 1930, by studio photographer Lawrence Beitler. Courtesy of the Indiana Hisorical Society.
An Iconic Lynching in the North
Lynching Quilt
Claxton Dekle – Prosperous Farmer, Husband & Father of Two
Joshua Glover Plaque
Some Exhibits to Come – Three Centuries Of Enslavement
Harriet Tubman, "The Conductor," with fugitive slaves in Underground Railroad station
Bibliography – Three Centuries of Enslavement
Ancient manuscripts about mathematics and astronomy from Timbuktu, Mali
Some Exhibits to Come – African Peoples Before Captivity
Shackles for Adults & Children from the Henrietta Marie
Some Exhibits to Come – The Middle Passage
Slaveship Stowage Plan
What I Saw Aboard a Slave Ship in 1829
Arno Michaels
Life After Hate: A Former White Power Leader Redeems Himself

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The concept of race is important to America's Black Holocaust Museum because of its impact on the African diaspora. Race is a way of categorizing people by physical features–predominantly skin color. In much of the world, the white (caucasian) race is viewed more favorably than other races. The social construct has been used to justify kidnapping and enslaving African peoples and centuries of racism, including redlining, Jim Crow laws, anti-Black violence, and racial stereotypes about laziness, to give just a few examples.

While race-based arguments for inhumane treatment do not reflect biological reality, especially because someone can be of multiple races, members of the same race may share certain cultural and genetic characteristics. For example, the Black community is disproportionately impacted by Sickle Cell Disease. However, it is important to remember that commonalities between people of the same race do not indicate a genetic or biological component. Instead, racism contributes to environments in ways that can have serious and lasting impacts, especially on Black health and wealth. For example, redlining and lack of money led to many Black people living in areas with more pollution, and those in the medical field do not always provide the same service to Black patients, both of which can impact health.

Because of these inequalities, the Civil Rights Movement and other social, legal, and economic efforts for equality often specifically benefit Black people and other people of color. Race and its impact on the world have also been the topic of interdisciplinary study, and some artists specifically incorporate race--and racism--into their work. Furthermore, race can be a source of pride, sometimes in response to racism and negative stereotypes.

‘Race-switch’ Robbers Found Guilty On All Counts

August 12, 2013

Three Black men have been found guilty of a robbery during which they wore white masks to hide their identities.

Hollywood’s Race Problem

October 2, 2013

While Black actors have made some strides in Hollywood, they are not being cast in roles that do not have to be Black.

Never-Ending Story: ‘Conversation About Race’ Has Not Brought Cultural Consensus

October 4, 2013

As long as people feel that racism is over and Hollywood depicts racial tropes, we must keep talking about race.

A Frank Talk About Race

March 2, 2014

America’s Black Holocaust Museum hosted a frank discussion about race that attracted participants of many races.

Army Updates Regulation That Had Sanctioned The Term ‘Negro’

November 7, 2014

U.S. Army regulations no longer allow the use of a term for Black people that many view as harmful and racist.

A Kaffeeklatsch on Race

February 19, 2015

The constantly called-for “national conversation on race” is not some grand conclave. We need to stop calling for the it and realize that we are already in it. Charles Blow analyzes FBI Director James Comey’s recent speech re: 3 hard truths – history of law enforcement as oppression, unconscious racial bias and lazy thinking/cynicism by police.

These Two Teens Aren’t Just Sisters — They’re Twins

March 4, 2015

When Lucy and Maria Aylmer tell people they are twins, disbelief is one response. While their other siblings have a blend of features from their parents, Lucy and Maria are opposites: Lucy has fair skin and red hair, while Maria has caramel skin and dark hair.

Poll Finds Most in U.S. Hold Dim View of Race Relations

July 24, 2015

In a New York Times poll, nearly six in 10 Americans think race relations are generally bad; four in 10 think the situation is getting worse.

“Race” – The History of a Persistent Myth

July 26, 2015

For more than 400 years, the economic, social, and political behavior of Americans has been shaped by ideas about “races” and racial differences. Where did these powerful ideas come from – and are they true? How have your ideas about racial differences been affected?

Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation”, Hollywood Clapback or Just Another Slave Movie?

May 6, 2016

By Riley Wilson and Shantrelle P. Lewis, Colorlines.com In this point/counterpoint about Nate Parker’s buzzy directorial debut, two Black independent filmmakers wrestle with the notion of seeing more chains, whips and nooses on the big screen.  Riley Wilson: “The Birth of a Nation” Didn’t Change the Game …On the one hand, we have a film written, directed, and starring a Black man that tells the story of an enslaved African-American by the name of Nat Turner who led the most successful slave rebellion in U.S. history. On the other hand, we have a film about slavery-again… …(I)f you consider the rapturous reviews of “The Birth of a Nation” and the popularity of Black Lives Matter, a film studio would be silly not to invest in such a project. Black folks fighting for their rights—let alone their lives—is so in right now… …(T)o be quite honest, I cringe every time I see a period film about this topic gain more notoriety than films that speak to the current condition of Black lives… …(T)here are so many other stories to tell. It’s like the only way a film about the Black experience is rewarded is if it’s about the good-ole’ days of slavery… My qualm is not with the success that “The Birth of Nation” has had so far. It’s with the lackadaisical nature of an industry that allows so many great movies from writers and directors of color to fall through the cracks… Shantrelle P. Lewis: Nate Parker’s “The Birth of A Nation” is the Biggest Clapback Hollywood Has Ever Seen …(M)ost of our parents, us and our children have a limited view of history—especially any involving people of African descent. We’re taught that Black history begins with slave ships, cotton gins, beatings, lynchings and rape and ends with segregated buses, water hoses, police dogs and burning crosses. This view has been exacerbated by the predominant images of Black people today, those from the minstrel shows that are reality television programs and the viral videos showing police-sanctioned murders of Black people on social media… Beyond what the sale of Parker’s film signifies,”The Birth of a Nation” is a brilliant clapback against the first movie to use this title, D.W. Griffith’s 1915 Ku Klux Klan propaganda film… …Give me Nat Turner. Give me Toussaint. Give me Dessalines. Give me Nanny. Give me Zumbi. Give me Boukman. Give me Tula. Give me 1811. Give me the Saamaka. Give me Sojourner. Give me Denmark. Give me Harriet. Give me all of them on the big screen, any day, any year from now until forever. Read the full article here. Read more Breaking News here.