Traveling Exhibition
From Aunt Jemima advertisements to the board game Ghettopoly, American popular culture is replete with racist images. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia features an extensive collection of racist objects that trace the history of the stereotyping of African Americans. The museum, located at Ferris State University, is offering "Hateful Things," a traveling exhibition of these images to further the museum's mission of stimulating the scholarly examination of historical and contemporary expressions of racism, as well as promoting racial understanding and healing.
Who Was Jim Crow?
In the early 1830s Thomas Dartmouth Rice created the antebellum character Jim Crow. "Daddy Rice" was a white actor who performed, in blackface, a song-and-dance whose exaggerations popularized racially demeaning minstrel shows. The name "Jim Crow" came to denote segregation in the 19th century when Southern and Border states passed "Jim Crow laws," legitimizing a racial caste system.
The Exhibition
The 39 piece traveling exhibition contains 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 also contains images of violence against African Americans as well as the Civil Rights struggle for racial equality.
The objects have been professionally framed at Ferris' Rankin Art Gallery. Plain black frames and brown backgrounds have been chosen to keep the emphasis on the objects as artifacts. Signage for each object places it in its proper cultural or political context.
The disturbing objects in "Hateful Things" have been lifted from their original purposes to now serve as powerful reminders of America's racist past. But more importantly, the exhibition gives viewers new eyes with which to see present-day images of racial stereotyping that might otherwise pass unchallenged.
Exhibition includes:
- 39 pieces
- Didactic Panels
- Documentary (DVD format)
Installation requirements:
- Minimum linear wall space of 150 feet
- Minimum floor space of 300 feet
- Proper lighting and security
Exhibition period:
- Minimum 1 week
- Maximum 12 weeks
Host institution fees:
- $500.00 per week
($200.00 per week discount for educational institutions)
- All shipping costs*
- Insurance
- A $100.00 non-refundable deposit to book the exhibit is required.
Shipping options available:
- Host institution picks up and returns exhibit.
- Exhibit delivered via professional shipping company.
Exhibition and Museum Contacts
For information on booking Traveling Exhibits, including scheduling and hosting costs, contact the Museum Office at jimcrowmuseum@ferris.edu or (231) 591-5873.
The Jim Crow Museum
In addition to creating "Hateful Things," Ferris State University is currently fundraising to provide an expanded permanent facility to exhibit the museum's 4,000-plus-item collection on its Big Rapids campus.
When completed, the new Jim Crow Museum will take visitors on a journey through the history of racism in America through display of its artifacts, expanded signage and audio-visual documentation. Moving from wrenching images of violence against African Americans, through stereotyping by such figures as Uncle Tom and the Coon Chicken Inn Porter, to the achievements of African Americans in a wide range of fields, the museum will both celebrate African American achievements and bear witness.
For information on participating in the capital campaign or donating funds to the new Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia facility, contact the museum at (231) 591-5873 or by email at jimcrowmuseum@ferris.edu.
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