Attend a special reception and lecture with the curator of a new exhibit at the Dennos Museum Center, Thursday, January 17.
The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College will present the exhibition THEM: Images of Separation from January 13 to March 3, 2013. THEM: Images of Separation is a lead component of a larger initiative in Traverse City called Embrace the Dream, which involves numerous area cultural and educational institutions working in collaboration with the Traverse City Human Rights Commission. (The events surrounding this initiative can be found at www.dennosmuseum.org/tolerance.)
THEM: Images of Separation is a traveling exhibition from the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University. Curated by Ferris State University professor of Social Sciences Dr. David Pilgrim, it showcases items from popular culture used to stereotype different groups. The negative imagery — found on postcards, license plates, games, souvenirs and costumes — promoted stereotyping against such groups as Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Jews and poor whites, as well as those who are “other” in terms of body type or sexual orientation.
The Jim Crow Museum is noted for its extensive collections of racist memorabilia against African Americans and the exhibition includes items demeaning to African-Americans, but that is only a part of the exhibition’s larger picture. “I’m hoping ‘THEM‘ shows discrimination and stereotyping is not just a black/white issue — it’s more pervasive than that,” says Dr. Pilgrim.
Pilgrim says, “For this show, we took our direction from Martin Luther King’s famous quote, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Through 35 separate framed pieces (some with multiple items, such as postcards); “THEM” tackles some of the most contentious, cultural hot-button issues: anti-Arab sentiment, Holocaust denial, “don’t ask, don’t tell” and immigration.
Dr. Pilgrim will speak at a special evening reception for the exhibition on Thursday, January 17 beginning at 5:30 PM that will feature a tasting menu of Soul Food favorites, with the lecture at 7 PM in the Milliken Auditorium of the Dennos Museum Center. The reception and lecture is open to the public free of charge, and is sponsored by DTE Energy, The Michigan Civil Rights Commission and NMC Student Life.