Museum Exhibit Outline

Museum Exhibit Outline

Name:

Institution:

Date:

Museum Exhibit Outline

1. Research before experience
   1. Study the topic on segregation especially what it meant, how it was evidenced such as through media and about artifacts likely to be found on the topic
   2. Resources researched

24. Abel, E. (2008). American Graffiti: The social Life of Segregation Signs. African American Review, 42 (1):9-24.

The article talks about how segregation was represented, talking about some of the cartoons depicted in a daily paper. The article further talks about these representations and their effect in maintaining the segregation. It also covers the narrative accounts of encounters with signs segregation that have mostly inclined to allegory as well as to reconstruction after civil rights. It provides an account of the likely artifacts to find in the exhibition as well as their meaning.

456. Norman, B. (2009). The Historical Uncanny: Segregation Signs in Getting Mother’s Body, a Post-Civil Rights American Novel. African American Review, 43 (2): 443-456.

In this article, the author suggests that segregation signs are objects of desire as well as scorn within the post-civil rights. He seeks to find the signs from museums and public exhibits as a way of reassuring that such segregation is dead but wonders whether such exhibitions present the real experience of living in compulsory racial segregation.

• Phillips, D. (2007). Ethnic and Racial Segregation: A Critical Perspective. Geography Compass, 1 (5): 1138-1159.

In this article, one understands segregation from a different perspective other than the segregation seen in the early 20^th century. It seeks to show how segregation is conceptualized, the implication arising for geographical research, how to measure racial segregation, its meaning, forces behind it and how its visual representation is used in political and policy spheres.

1. experience at Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
   1. Each day at the Jim Crow museum objects of different forms and dimensions are displayed. However, one theme resonates in all of them, which is racism especially during segregation era. From cartoons, drinking glasses, detergent boxes and pictures depicting the segregation are displayed. The exhibition presented real artifacts and showed what it was like to live during those days. As an African, one would believe in their inferiority, laziness, inarticulate, idle and physically unattractive. On the other hand, whites were portrayed as superior and opposite of the African Americans. Looking at some of the posters such as one showing where colored people were to sit in the bus and where to wait brought an experience of what it was like to live in such an era.
2. reflecting on experience
   1. After carrying out research before the experience, it was easier to understand what segregation meant during the exhibition. The research provided information about racial segregation that came from the belief that Africans were inferior to whites.
   2. From the research, I was able to understand segregation deeper and several of its forms including geographical, occupation and educational segregation. I realized that segregation could be in different ways, not just separating of facilities such different schools for different races. It could also be through how services are provided to the different races as well as the stereotypical beliefs that determine relationship between two races.
   3. One similarity that I experienced with both the Experiential Learning and my own experience with diversity is that stereotypical beliefs could be a factor in determining the kind of relationship one can have with a person from another race. For instance, believing that all Asians are good at mathematics made me think that they always perform highly.
   4. What I gained about diversity is that people as individuals are diverse, and people from a different race should not be viewed in a generalized way although several characteristics are similar depending on their cultural background. One question that boggles me is how segregation is presents at this time because I think it still exists.
3. applying experience

In my experience, I think that one change that is required is having people believe that generalizations of stereotypes about different races truly exist. Rather, people need to drop such misconceptions and embrace diversity as individual level.

References

Abel, E. (2008). American Graffiti: The social Life of Segregation Signs. African American Review, 42 (1):9-24.

Norman, B. (2009). The Historical Uncanny: Segregation Signs in Getting Mother’s Body, a Post-Civil Rights American Novel. African American Review, 43 (2): 443-456.

Phillips, D. (2007). Ethnic and Racial Segregation: A Critical Perspective. Geography Compass, 1 (5): 1138-1159.