MISSISSIPPI... RETURN
TO THE COCOON

EXCAVATING THE ORIGINS OF BLACK THROUGH WATER, LAND, AND SPIRIT REVEALS THE BRUTAL AND COMPLEX ORIGINS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE MISSISSIPPI REGION. THIS EXHIBITION CONFRONTS THE FORCED LABOR, RAPE, AND VIOLENCE THAT SHAPED THE LIVES OF WEST AFRICANS BROUGHT TO THE AREA, HIGHLIGHTING HOW THEIR SURVIVAL UNDER THESE CONDITIONS LED TO THE CREATION OF A NEW CULTURAL AND ETHNIC IDENTITY.

 

THROUGH THE WATERWAYS THAT CARRIED THEM, THE LAND THAT BOUND THEM TO BRUTAL LABOR, AND THE SPIRITUAL PRACTICES THAT EMERGED FROM PAIN AND RESILIENCE, THE SHOW UNCOVERS THE WAYS AFRICAN, NATIVE AMERICAN, AND EUROPEAN FORCES COLLIDED. IT EXAMINES THE FORMATION OF A PEOPLE THROUGH EXPLOITATION, CULTURAL BLENDING, AND SURVIVAL, HONORING THE STRENGTH AND INGENUITY OF THOSE WHO TRANSFORMED OPPRESSION INTO ENDURING TRADITIONS AND A NEW CULTURAL IDENTITY.

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