“Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow” Explores Deep History Of Repression

Unidentified artist, Dred Scott, New-York Historical Society

The New-York Historical Society has announced the September 2018 opening of a new exhibit that explores how African Americans survived Jim Crow, and how their resistance ultimately led to the Civil Rights Movement.

Titled “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow,” the show will document the years between the Civil War and World War I. According to a statement by the museum, the exhibit will feature significant works of art and artifacts, such as a painting of Dred Scott, Ida B. Wells’ “Southern Horrors” text, and a previously enslaved couple’s marriage certificate.

The exhibit was created in collaboration with Dr. Henry Louis Gates and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).  

“I recognize the urgent mission of cultural organizations to shed light on the persistent implications of slavery and racism on our nation’s institutions and our individual lived experiences,” said Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of NMAAHC. “I am heartened that the New-York Historical Society has committed to educating the public on these complex issues in New York, and I look forward to continued partnership.”

“Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow” opens at the New-York Historical Society on September 7, and will run through March 2019. This marks the first of many exhibits on black culture that the Historical Society has planned between now and 2019.