When I last visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture, I started…
Heather Bruce Satrom
Professor, English Language for Academic Purposes
A question I often ask myself as an educator is how I can teach my students about complex problems without making them feel hopeless or overwhelmed. When I think of the myriad challenges that this generation faces, including the very relevant theme of this year’s Smithsonian fellowship, Social Justice in the Time of the Pandemic, I’m deeply aware that our students will need to leave Montgomery College with a large toolbox. They will need strong communication skills, critical thinking skills, a knowledge of history, and the conviction that change is possible. I believe that the way to inspire students to be a part of social change is to introduce them to the work of activists and artists who have challenged us to re-imagine our world.
A few weeks ago, I took my students to the exhibit “Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.” at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. According to Tuliza Fleming, interim chief curator of visual arts at NMAAHC, “The exhibition seeks to forge connections between the Black Lives Matter protests, racial violence, grief and mourning, hope and change.” As my students explored the paintings, photographs, sculptures, and other works of art in the exhibit, I observed them interacting with the art.
It was a joy to watch their facial expressions change as they spent time looking closely at each work. I watched several of them pause in quiet reflection, jot down notes, take photos, or turn to a classmate to share their thoughts. I observed students who stood silently, in a dark chapel-like space, before the portrait of Breonna Taylor by Amy Sherald. I watched them take in the powerful photographs of Zun Lee. I saw one student return several times to consider the painting Walking by Charles Henry Alston. Another student spent a long time gazing at Move On Up A Little Higher by Charles White. Several male students were taken with the brilliant and bold But I’m Still Fly by Fahamu Pecou. When students read the story behind Flower Memorial Pee Chee by Patrick Martinez, I heard audible gasps. One student returned again and again to ponder Ghetto Krater by Roberto Lugo. I Go to Prepare A Place For You, a portrait of Harriet Tubman by quilter Bisa Butler, provoked much conversation. The beautiful faces of An Offering, a series of four icon-like paintings by Stephen Towns, drew many students. Two students, refugees from Afghanistan, paused in front of the African-American Flag by David Hammons, looking somewhat puzzled as they considered this red, black, and green version of a familiar symbol. Psychological Redlining by Rashaun Rucker,13 studies of African American men depicted with the startling features of pigeons, caused one student to find me to ask, “Is a pigeon the same as a dove?”
Later, when students exited the exhibition, I sat on a bench in Cultural Expressions, “a circular, experiential, introductory space to African American and African diaspora culture,” and I observed them visibly relax, having completed their observations and note-taking. As we listened to the joyful sounds of jazz, marching bands, Gospel music, and the Muslim call to prayer, as lines of poetry flashed on the walls around us, they explored this space, which highlights African-American style, food, art, movement, and language. I saw smiles and flashes of recognition on the faces of my students, many of whom are originally from African countries such as Burkina Faso, Togo, Senegal, and Ethiopia. A Haitian student read with interest a panel about the grammar of Haitian Creole. Another student, a francophone from West Africa, paused as she read the words of Maryse Condé, a French novelist, critic, and playwright from Guadeloupe: “Je comprends maintenant que la culture est ce qu’il y a de plus important.”
In other words, “I now understand that culture is the most important.”
As a professor in the English Language for Academic Purposes (ELAP) program, I have the privilege of guiding students in the process of language acquisition, so they can achieve their academic and career goals. Many of our students have experienced, first-hand, some of the most challenging situations imaginable: violence, war, displacement, political upheaval, the effects of global climate change, natural disasters, and health crises in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, Haiti, and Venezuela. Students from these countries and others have borne witness to some of the most historically significant events of our time, and they have come to Montgomery County, Maryland to rebuild their lives. Often, after they arrive, they are a bit confused by the elusiveness of The American Dream. The reality of America rarely lives up to the idealized images from Hollywood. I want them to learn about American culture(s) and to better understand the complicated history of the country they have chosen to call home. Most of all, I want them to make connections between their lives and experiences in their home countries and their lives and experiences here.
When I designed my Smithsonian project (Inspiring Social Change through the Study of History and Art) for the ELAP capstone course, an integrated skills course, I had four goals in mind: to engage students in the pressing issues of our time, to spark thinking on topics of equity, to ask students to relate their own experiences to current matters of societal consequence, and to consider how artists and activists re-imagine and change their world. To do this, I mapped out a four-step plan.
The first step is to introduce students to course content that explores the roles of artists and activists in creating social justice. My students learn about the provocative paintings and sculpture of Titus Kaphar, whose work challenges us to rethink public art, memorials, and monuments. Kaphar, whose work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, asks, “Can art amend history?” I introduce them to the idea that art is a language, and I ask them to consider the civil disobedience of Bree Newsome Bass. In 2015, Bass climbed the flagpole at the South Carolina state house grounds to remove the Confederate Flag. Her helmet, which she wore when she climbed the flagpole, is on display at NMAAHC. They learn about intersectionality and non-Western feminism from the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. My students explore the writing of poet Clint Smith, author of “My Hopes, Dreams, Fears for My Future Black Son,” who asks us to reflect on the challenges that Black parents face in the U.S. I teach my students about Ron Finley, the artist and “guerilla gardener of Los Angeles” whose work asks us to examine food apartheid and environmental racism. Finally, my students explore the work of Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and one of the founders of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. I have chosen to use this (hopefully) engaging content for the receptive skills of reading and listening, so my students will be motivated to express themselves in the productive skills of writing and speaking.
Second, I teach students how to engage with visual art. To do this, I use QUESTS, Questions for Understanding, Exploring, Seeing, and Thinking, which were created by Project MUSE (Museums Uniting with Schools in Education) at Harvard. Because my students are English language learners and because most of them have never taken an art appreciation course or even visited an art museum, they need tools to discuss visual art. Before we visited the exhibition, I showed them works of art from Reckoning and asked them questions such as these:
What emotions seem to be expressed in this work of art? Why do you think so?
What is the story of this work of art? How do the colors, lines, and shapes help to tell the story or communicate a message?
Why do you think the artist made this work of art?
What is said through art that cannot be said through words?
Do you think art can be used to heal or to give hope?
Can art help change our society and culture?
The third step is the visit to the exhibition itself. Their assignment is to choose one work of art that they find particularly meaningful or interesting. They are asked to think about why this work of art “speaks to them.” They then create a digital story describing the work of art and explaining why it resonates with them.
My students are now in the final stage of the project. With the help of interns from the Digital Storytelling Internship Program at MC, they are creating digital stories about their experience at the exhibition. They have written drafts of their scripts and have worked in story circles with their peers. They have learned the fundamentals of WeVideo, a video editing platform. Currently, they are in the process of writing revisions and recording their scripts. One student wrote about how Photograph of Janaya Khan at a Black Lives Matter protest in Hollywood reminded him of his participation in the 2021 demonstrations in his home country of Myanmar. Another student wrote wistfully about how Father Figure: Untitled by Zun Lee made her wish she had a different relationship with her own father. Another student wrote about how But I’m Still Fly reminded him of his ethnic group, the Ambonese, who face discrimination in his home country of Indonesia. As they finish their projects, I’m eager to learn about their stories, their experiences, and most of all, their defiance and resilience.
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This is an incredibly exciting project. Heather is a friend, but I had no idea of the details of what she was doing until she sent me this article. I was reminded just this week of the power of art as a form and force of social justice when I visited a special exhibit at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. I think what she is doing with her students is cutting-edge work that can both shape the future contributions of her students and ground them in better understanding their own lives.
The role of art in post-pandemic times is crucial. Thanks to Heather Satrom and the use of the Quest Method in her work with students, critical thinking and artwork analysis develop an important role in empowering and shaping even more resilience of individuals in a time of crisis.
The gift being given these students is life itself.
If you wake up on the weekend after you have already experienced the latest blockbuster superhero movie and first-person shooter video game and are able to look forward to the latest exhibits in your local museums, you will never be bored. But such appreciation requires the ability to find meaning in such art, and it is almost always a great teacher that leads us to this stage of consciousness.
My own travel has been greatly enhanced by my love of hanging out in museums, and it was my college humanities teachers that showed me how to find personal and intellectual connections with art: meaning.
I enjoyed visiting the Smithsonian Museum with my classmates and professor Satrom. The story telling project is a new experience for me and I really enjoyed it. Sharing my perspectives on a piece of art with my classmate is something powerful, and it gave me the chance to express myself.
I had an amazing experience visiting the museum with my class and other course mates, learnt a lot of new things and history of African- Americans. Thanks to Professor Satrom, I can be able to share my knowledge on some issues about African- Americans. I would love to visit this museum again.
An academic course is too far away from a spiritual journey, but I experienced both during the past month. An American actor Tom Hanks said in an Oscar reward movie Forrest Gump that “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” I just wanted to improve my English when I registered for this course in August. However, it has changed me so much, especially the digital story project and the experience of visiting the exhibit “Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.” at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Changes have happened in me academically and spiritually.
Academically, If I draw an analogy between learning English and going upstairs, this experience can be considered an elevator that brings me to a higher floor quickly. For example, to generate a high-quality narration, I polished my script about five times and worked with a speech coach to optimize my speaking pace as well as pronunciation. All these efforts helped me target problems that are imperative for me to improve on. It is important because knowing where the bugs are is critical for a learner to improve. Now, I know clearly where I should go in my English learning journey, and I have much confidence and am eager to express my ideas in English.
Spiritually, the experience of visiting this museum broadened my horizons about African American history and inspired me to make social change in my home country, China. The painting But I’m Still Fly shows me the obstacles that young African Americans meet on their path to their success and their determination to transcend those so-called limitations put on them by society. This artwork links to my life experience of being a son of farmers in a poor small village in China and finally going to a top university. It reminds me that the disadvantageous social class negatively is still influencing young people’s possession of educational opportunities. How can I help achieve educational equity? One answer might be to raise the next generation’s awareness that “they can fly” no matter what their background is. I believe that I can contribute to this vision through paintings, videos, or articles.
In conclusion, the experience of visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture and doing the digital story project is the “box of chocolates” for me. It not only helps me build the ability to express my ideas efficiently in English writing, narrating, and video format but also lets me know deeply about African Americans’ history, contribution, suffering, courage, talent, and hope. More importantly, it reminds me of the unfairness and rebellion, which are neglected, in my home country China and gives me the wisdom of how I should do contribution to my people.
An academic course is too far away from a spiritual journey, but I experienced both during the past month. An American actor Tom Hanks said in an Oscar reward movie Forrest Gump that “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” I just wanted to improve my English when I registered for this course in August. However, it has changed me so much, especially the digital story project and the experience of visiting the exhibit “Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.” at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Changes have happened in me academically and spiritually.
Academically, If I draw an analogy between learning English and going upstairs, this experience can be considered an elevator that brings me to a higher floor quickly. For example, to generate a high-quality narration, I polished my script about five times and worked with a speech coach to optimize my speaking pace as well as pronunciation. All these efforts helped me target problems that are imperative for me to improve on. It is important because knowing where the bugs are is critical for a learner to improve. Now, I know clearly where I should go in my English learning journey, and I have much confidence and am eager to express my ideas in English.
Spiritually, the experience of visiting this museum broadened my horizons about African American history and inspired me to make social change in my home country, China. The painting But I’m Still Fly shows me the obstacles that young African Americans meet on their path to their success and their determination to transcend those so-called limitations put on them by society. This artwork links to my life experience of being a son of farmers in a poor small village in China and finally going to a top university. It reminds me that the disadvantageous social class negatively is still influencing young people’s possession of educational opportunities. How can I help achieve educational equity? One answer might be to raise the next generation’s awareness that “they can fly” no matter what their background is. I believe that I can contribute to this vision through paintings, videos, or articles.
In conclusion, the experience of visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture and doing the digital story project is the “box of chocolates” for me. It not only helps me build the ability to express my ideas efficiently in English writing, narrating, and video format but also lets me know deeply about African Americans’ history, contribution, suffering, courage, talent, and hope. More importantly, it reminds me of the unfairness and rebellion, which are neglected, in my home country China and gives me the wisdom of how I should do contribution to my people.
I had a really great time visiting the museum with my classmates. I was able to learn a lot about the African American history. I really enjoyed the story telling project. I enjoyed sharing my observations and thoughts about a specific work of art as well. I would definitely revisit the museum someday.
Usually I don’t like museums because I don’t find them very interactive. However this exhibition is not like the others. There are not only paintings to look at, there is also music, interactive screens, we do not discover only paintings or sculptures. We can discover traditional clothes, speeches and many other things very interesting. One thing is sure: you can’t get bored in this exhibition and in this museum, there are so many things to discover and to look at. During the visit I didn’t see the time pass and it’s really rare that I enjoy spending so much time in a museum.
Visiting the smithsonian museum with professor Satrom, was a wonderful experience and a privilege to attend a place of educational learning par excellence where through conferences, storytelling, exhibitions and more they are a source of information for museum visitors who serve as support for us improve our knowledge and reflections on different cultures.
What an amazing experience for me when visiting the Smithsonian Museum of African America history and culture. It was a great time to explore and see around those sculptures or artworks. I’ve learned a lot through this field trip.
What a brilliant way to engage your students. I am already thinking how can I create similar experience for my classes.