A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration
I recently had the privilege to be one of the first people to experience an exhibit at the Mississippi Museum of Art, in Jackson, MS. Intrigued, excited, curious to learn more, I accepted the invitation and hit the road. The entire exhibit left me speechless.
The Great Migration had its first beginnings in 1915. A mass exodus of Black Americans from the South to the North, East, West sparked cultural revolutions and brought along series of histories and ancestral stories that have continued to contribute to the generations today. Many are steeped in heartbreak, tragedy, pain, confusion. Homes wrenched and torn apart, individuals and full communities terrorized by Jim Crow laws, lynchings, and systemic racism. Yet still then, even there, life still found a way. Beautiful stories emerged, new lives and reawakenings were grasped onto. Land was bought and roots were planted, family grown in a new era.
For “A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration,” 12 Black artists were given space and time to think about the lasting impact that the Great Migration had on the generations in their family, and also themselves. Familial research, conversations, access to archives led to previously unknown family histories, emotional digging and creative interpretation.
The exhibit is stunning, overwhelming. None of these are my story to tell, only to share that you need to hear them, see, experience. I went in to be curious, soak in, learn from them in a classroom different than the desked walls of our youth.
I got emotional, as one does. The one that got me was a series of letters and photographs from Larry W. Cook, his exploring of intergenerational fatherhood, and the impact of leaving. The line, “I needed you then and I need you now,” ripped my heart. I attempted to go find a quiet corner to wipe my tears and stumbled into the Carrie Mae Weems exhibit, her video installation of the story of her great grandfather who was attacked by a white mob, left for dead, escaped and his journey of following the North Star to Chicago, and how his leaving affected the entire family and generations to follow.
The genius, beauty, and haunting 3 part video series, A House Called Florida, by Allison Janae Hamilton, had me mesmerized, entranced with her portrayal of social, political and environmental issues captured in a surrealist imagery.
And so many more. But I need you to go immerse yourself, once again, these are not my stories to tell.
Each one had me in its clutches, losing time, eyes imploring over every detail and taking in each part of the story. Somewhere I could keep going back to and spending hours. Stories so varied from my own, my heart breaking as an empath only being able to imagine the emotional and continued cost.
Before December, I had never heard of the Great Migration. Maybe it had been spoken about during a history class, but the gloss over was apparent. An entire section of history has opened, with resources available and stories told in achingly beautiful ways.
Make a trip to Jackson, MS. Go to the MMA, visit its other museums, eat at the local restaurants and find a souvenir from a local shop or artisan. Make history move.
