History Comes Alive
Black American Womanists: We Voted for Her, Not for Him or Him
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Dorothy Randall-Tsuruta
In a December 13, 2017 Twitter, Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, applauded Black American women for voting in the recent US elections and commented, "Remember white folks, that you too can be on the right side of history. White women voted on the wrong side of history --for Trump and for Moore." Data reported in "Essence Magazine," informed readers that ninety-six percent of all Black American women voted and for Hillary, not Trump. More recently, from all news reporting, Black American women came out in force and defeated Moore. Garza goes on to say, "Who is organizing white women to join the future we all deserve?" Black womanists (not feminists) organize in voting efforts faithful to Black Americans’ blood struggle to get the vote in the first place, drawing on Black perseverance, drive, and intelligence, and not on the rhetoric of after-the-fact white feminist women's marches. Black women grasp the fact that white feminists and their followers, should look for a change to the leadership of Black women, rather than presumptuously telling non-white women to follow the white feminists' (whine in woeful marches after the fact). In my paper I discuss the energizing effect of Black women’s (womanists) independence that keeps the eye on battles of the past bravely won so that history does not return to “Make America Worse Again” (a recent New York Review of Books cover heading).
Re-inscribing History: "Seeing" Historical Records and Databases
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yoonkyung Kim
Most images and informational data from historical records and databases remain unseen because there is a massive over-saturation of visual material. This material has not been thoroughly investigated or understood. Historical archives offer opportunities to discover stories that reposition history in more intimate terms. I explore what remains unseen by revealing new routes that these “facts” can take. Exploring the boundaries between the public and the personal, I visit archival documents, public databases, and historical collections. Fascinated by their stories’ multifaceted nature, I critically examine these primary sources that nourish generations of new histories. My intention is to redefine our relationship with controlled primary sources. By creating new narrative structures, I expand the terms of the archives’ accessibility through personal encounters. The resulting works produce a new interpretation of history that links the past and present, disseminating stories that challenge the fate of most archives. Re-inscribing history helps viewers connect to historical details by offering them proximity to the primary source through my experience of various archives. My practice is specifically that of reconstruction; linking the past to my personal life.
