Mary Frances
Whitfield: Why?
Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, May 31 - November 23, 2019
Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, May 31 - November 23, 2019
In
collaboration with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Abroms-Engel
Institute for the Visual Arts presented an exhibition of paintings by the self-taught artist Mary Frances Whitfield. These paintings depict the racial terror
lynchings of African Americans. The topic of lynchings is an extremely
difficult topic to discuss but is absolutely necessary in order to honor the
victims. We need to understand the horrific methods of lynching as well as to
come to terms and acceptance instead of denial about this ugly, important part
of our country's history. [1]
On preparing
to give a tour of the exhibition of Whitfield's works, I discovered that she was deeply affected by images
of the lynching victim, Emmett Till. Till was a 14-year-old child who
was lynched in 1955 in Mississippi. Till's
family asked for their son to be photographed. Jet magazine published the photographs so that people could witness the horrific terror attacks that were
being committed against African Americans. These photographs, in part, galvanized support for the Civil Rights Movement. [2] Even
today, Till's memorial sign at the site of his lynching has been
vandalized with bullet holes and replaced twice.
 |
| Mary Frances Whitfield, Sari-Mae's Sorrow, 1996, watercolor on canvas board, private collection |
Whitfield often
depicts children as victims of lynching in her works as well as portrays the
grief of the family members as they mourn the loss of their loved ones. This may be
due to her reaction to and empathy for Till's death and as a way
to expose the grief of his family members along with the many other victims
and families that experienced loss and terror. Whitfield's work gives a voice to the victims of lynching that
they deserve and that is long overdue.
Recently, the
Memorial for Peace and Justice opened in Montgomery, Alabama to commemorate the
loss of over 4,000 known victims of lynching. The exhibit at AEIVA of the work
of Whitfield is a step to begin to open a dialogue about this
sensitive topic within the city of Birmingham that has experienced lynching first-hand with 30
known victims. The Jefferson County Memorial Project plans to place historical markers
of lynching sites as well as to produce a memorial within the city for the
victims.[3]
In 2017, I
decided to leave my job in Seattle and move to Birmingham to be closer to my
father. Not knowing very much about the Birmingham area, I was unsure of what I
would experience and encounter in this city. I have learned a lot about the
events that occurred here during the Civil Rights movement and I feel that it
is important to talk about these things in order to move forward and to grow
stronger as a community. Today, I feel
like there is hope here and that by talking about sensitive topics such as
lynching we can begin to heal the horrific events of our country's past and be
more alert to how racism and stereotyping affect our lives today. It is important
that we do not deny or ignore events of the past so we will not repeat them in
the future. Hopefully, we can start to be
honest with ourselves and others and point out areas where we may be
unknowingly adding to the problem of intolerance and move towards becoming a
better, more tolerant society that supports all people's lives and respects
their inherent value. - Audrey Sokol
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