JoDo Chasing Rainbows
Exploring the US and Canada from our RV
Museum of African American History
We visited this museum in Beacon Hill on Joy Street. It is part of the history of free Black people who lived in this area in the 1700 and 1800s. What I liked most about this museum is that it only has one exhibit at a time. The current exhibit is about Frederick Douglass in pictures.
Frederick Douglass started his advocacy at the time when taking a photo has gotten much cheaper. He used his image to shatter stereotypes about Black people. When you enter the exhibit it starts of with photos of Douglass as a young man. He is dressed impeccably. In his early photos he mostly stares directly into the camera, not smiling, with his hands in a fist, almost like he is daring you to see him less than a man. After Emancipation the photos change. His still does not smile but he has that elder statesman pose, looking off into the distance, his body language much more relaxed.
Frederick Douglass is the most photographed person of the 19th century. He understood the power of the photo. He took minimal personal photos. During his lifetime, there was about four documented personal photos. Only two where he is smiling. Both of those photos were when he was of advanced age. He did not smile in photos because he wanted to add a counter narrative to the happy slave.
I was deeply effected by this exhibit. I was struck at the power of the photos. I think most of us have seen a photo of Mr. Douglass. However, when you put all the photos in order, you can feel the power of his advocacy. He knew how to use this medium to change narrative of who Black people are and what we can do. I don’t have any photos since you are not allowed to take pictures within this museum. Please do look for photos that are within the public domain. Better yet, get thee to Boston and view this powerful exhibit.
**This exhibit will run through December 2018.
Location: 46 Joy Street, Beacon Hill, Boston, MA
54th Regiment
Boston has been on my to see list since I saw the movie “Glory”. They mention the Col Shaw statue at the end but to me as an African American it has always been about the 54th Regiment of black soldiers. It sits in Boston Common, the central public park in downtown Boston. It is the oldest city park in the United States, dating back to 1634. It is a part of the Freedom Trail. To me is serves as a testament to the lives of one of the first group of African American men to serve in the Civil War. Before that Black men were not allowed to take up arms to fight, even though they participated in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. These men were all volunteers and they were the first documented regiment in the North. The regiment lost 74 enlisted and 3 officers in the historic attack on Fort Wagner in South Carolina in 1863. Hundreds were wounded, Col Shaw was killed during that battle. Sgt William Carney was wounded in the battled yet managed to save the regiments flag from being captured. He was the first African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Of the original regiment of 1,007 only 598 were there to take part in the final ceremonies on the Boston Common. The statue shows Col Shaw and the regiment marching down Beacon Street, it was unveiled on May 31, 1897.
Source: National Park Service