Curators ’ Statements
At the Heart of Justice is Language
When I was asked to co-curate Race , Myth , Art and Justice , I thought about my own first introduction to racial injustice — if one can at all be “ introduced ” to it . The prologue to my awakening that the United States was built on a binary of “ people of color ” versus “ white ” came at fourteen years old when my family migrated from Guyana . I come from a place , like many of the artists in this exhibition with roots in the Caribbean , where the beauty of black and brown bodies was the norm . I come from a place where blended families like mine — of African , Indian , and Amerindian people steeped in Muslim , Hindu , and Christian faiths — was nothing exceptional . I come from a place where I never had to check a box defining my identity , first and foremost , by a racial category . Adjusting to America as a new immigrant came with tremendous struggles ; what I was not prepared for , however , was the trauma of having to reconcile myself as a raced body . I found the labels “ other ,” “ minority ,” and “ alien ” acts of erasure . The constant onslaught of other people ’ s language , other people ’ s labels , other people ’ s framing , was daunting . Language matters . No human being is a “ minority .” Just as no human being is “ illegal .” This too is a great myth ; one that has had irreparable damage on our collective psyche .
Knowing how language has historically been wielded as one of the most powerful weapons of racial injustice and oppression , what struck me about the artists in Race , Myth , Art and Justice , and the writers who thoughtfully reflect on their work , is a razor-sharp vigilance of the ways language continues to instigate violence , malign our bodies , incarcerate our freedoms , and divide our communities . In tandem , they commit to manifest new and , simultaneously reject , old language . We see it in Kwesi Abbensetts ’ s portraits to reclaim “ black face ,” in Jonathan Gardenhire ’ s and Stan Squirewell ’ s images to redefine “ invisible men ” and in Ming Smith ’ s “ invisible women .” We see it in Deborah Willis ’ s photographs to dismantle the provenance of “ blackamoors ” and in Terry Boddie ’ s images to counter the notion that our histories are only rooted in “ tragedy .” We see it in the films of Adama Delphine Fawundu and Deborah Jack where black women and girls are the protagonists — they are the epitome of “ leading ladies .” The artists in the exhibition bravely charter new blueprints for saying , naming , labeling , describing , and framing us . Knowing , that although language has been used to tear us apart , at the same time , at the heart of the quest for justice , is language .
Grace Aneiza Ali Co-Curator , Race , Myth , Art and Justice Assistant Professor , Art & Public Policy , New York University
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