We visited an exhibit called Determination focusing on the 400 years of racially-motivated hate and discrimination that has run our country. It was really interesting to see the culmination of segregation and inequality in all different aspects of life, from education to housing to fame. The title comes from a speech given by MLK about the determination African Americans have portrayed in this centuries-long fight for equality and justice. I really liked the title and exhibit because it not only encouraged the mission for equality but also gave credit to a multitude of factors and people – the exhibit focused on thirty individuals who are remembered for their contributions to the fight for equality, such as MLK and Nat Turner, demonstrating all of the various parts played.
I liked how the exhibit was set up, starting with protests from slaves up until present-day fights for equality. It showed how each protest or riot built upon previous ones and the accumulation of ideas, all of which advocated for similar things but the wording or the ideology improved each time. It also detailed how way that protests occurred, violent or nonviolent, and how each ended (mainly the nonviolent worked better than violent).
One thing that stood out to me was the Rosa Parks, Colvin bus riot incident (not ideal word choice but I couldn’t think of another word). I had to tell some of my classmates about how it was not Parks who did the act of civil disobedience and why there was a change. They were dumbfounded, and it made me realize even more how the Great Man Theory has effected our view of history, whitening it and making it male-orientated.
However, I didn’t like the end because it was a board of who inspires visitors, and many people didn’t take it seriously, taking away from the necessary intense-ness of the exhibit. The intensity and focus of the exhibit really honed in on how necessary it is for equality to come about, and the board seemed to be a distractor instead of a contributor.
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