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LaToya Eaves, assistant professor of geography in the Department of Geography and Sustainability at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will present “‘Urgent Care’: Revisioning Power and Place through Black Museums,” part of the Graduate School of Geography Colloquium Speaker Series.
This lecture will be held via Zoom »
Meeting ID: 934 2548 8673
Passcode: 071078
According to the Association of African American Museums (AAAM), there are more than 200 African American history and cultural museums (AAHCMs) — or other sites with substantial African American collections such as libraries and archives — across the U.S. Many of these museums had their start shortly after the height of the Civil Rights Movement, with a surge in establishments in the 1970s. AAHCMs serve to decenter white stories of America and refocus on Black experiences of this country. While geographers have studied an array of institutions and phenomena relating to memory and heritage as well as urban and regional transformations, museums remain understudied and under-theorized despite engaging in valuable historical and geographic narratives. Using data from participant observation and semi-structured interviews, Eaves’ study analyzes Black placemaking and the construction of power in Philadelphia. The results reveal the ways AAHCMs are integral to understanding the relationships between Black placemaking and urban geographies in the United States and, therefore, to contributing to insurgent knowledge about place.