People of Color in European Art History

[Link to original ask]

What a mess. But it goes to show that as online, so goes “real life” a.k.a. human interaction across platforms is pretty much the same. I’m not surprised to hear it was more complicated than that; it often is, because humans are complicated in themselves. Throw in social interaction and then historical context on top of that in an academic/archival workplace environment, and you have a disaster. I speak from experience, sadly.

My policy as a non-Black person of color is to clearly label content like historical documents containing dehumanizing language including anti-Black racial slurs, because I don’t think that wanting to learn about history is the same as willingness to be bombarded with 400 racial slurs. I know that’s not what I want when trying to learn about Native American or Romani history, but that’s still kind of variable, unfortunately.

I think another problem with this whole conversation (online or off), is that it seems like people expect that people who are the same race must agree about everything to do with race, as if there’s some kind of official consensus on every last bit of minutiae. Which is patently ridiculous, but half the asks I get regarding resources for creative projects are like, “What can I do to prevent anyone from criticizing my work re: race, ever” and I’m just....you can’t? Humans are individuals, and experiences, opinions, and responses will vary among them?

Also ubiquitous is the white woman trying to dictate what is and is not racist/objectionable to two Black women she works with, which is racist itself. Like, how entitled must you feel to do that? *rolls eyes* Just the phrase “White lady accused black lady of "whitewashing" history“ speaks volumes, and it comes as no surprise that she just did what she wanted and was surprised she got in trouble.

The thing is, I think that in a lot of ways I should be held accountable for the same thing, considering that this whole project is about “People of Color”, but even that term itself originates from the historical term “Free People of Color”. Despite the fact that MPoC shows images and hosts discussions about all kinds of PoC, the backlash is generally anti-Black in nature.

I do my best to keep Jared Sexton’s “People-of-Color-Blindness” firmly in mind with every post I make here, in hopes of avoiding erasure of specifically anti-Black concepts and issues. The role of the curator in my opinion shouldn’t be some kind of assumed-neutral arbitrator of what should and should not be known, especially on something so important.

But at the same time, I don’t think that keeping this information hidden to molder in obscurity helps anyone at all, either. So a lot of curating information is about putting it in the hands of those who are affected by it, in order to better circumvent gatekeeping and undermine the structures in place currently that divide humanity into those who study/write about others/”The Other”, and those people who are studied/written about. You can’t be neutral on a moving train, and so I am not. Heck, I’ve been flat-out asked “How do I know you’re not biased?” and my response was verbatim: “Of course I’m biased. But so are you, and your professor, and your textbook, and anything else created by humans.”

I think what really should take center here is whether or not the people a narrative is about are the ones controlling that narrative. And if not, what can be done to rectify that injustice? Access to information is in my opinion of the best ways in which this can begin to be addressed; it’s one of the ways a conversation can begin-with adequate information and access to resources. So that’s what I’m trying to do, and I think that information being available is always more desirable than it not being available.

BUT.

The situation you’re describing is one that actively disrespects and disregards the desires and the input/participation of people AFFECTED by that information, and that is an injustice. I do my best to avoid that, and I don’t always succeed. I am capable of doing harm, and it’s very important that I be held accountable for that. However, doing nothing in the face of already-existing injustice wasn’t really an ethical option for me, considering I had access to/know about the information that’s out there, and to leave it where it was, that would also be a choice.

That being said, history isn’t always happy rainbow time. There’s a lot of violence and ugliness to be found there, disenfranchisement as well as empowerment. The problem is when these narratives take over everything in the popular consciousness, and the beauty is erased and replaced with only the negative. See also Chimamanda Adichie’s The Danger of a Single Story.

These things are complex, and they should be. There’s room. Humanity has the capacity to form complex solutions to complex problems, and oversimplification or polarization isn’t always called for, or helpful. The problem here is that people’s power to tell their own stories and describe themselves has been taken away. An “amiable solution” to the problem you describe seems as if it can be reached by keeping that in mind. A white woman deciding to take that power for herself is an act of injustice that directly affected both of her coworkers, and that is wrong.

Too many histories have been stolen, and too many people of color have been disenfranchised by that theft. People need to be able to reconnect with their own histories and be able to tell their own stories. The ease with which information can be accessed shared right now is unprecedented, and I’m trying to do my part to show just how much is out there.

Well, this is depressing and disheartening to read.

Especially since your request is for “sources” to explain to the director of a historical archive why history is important and valuable. How is it possible that the value of art and history, the value of humanity, must be “proven” in order to save it from being obliterated, or taken away from the people who need it the most? This is anti-Black racism in action; this is its function. This is racism at its most insidious, its most destructive, and its most harmful. Also notice that what has been specified for removal is Black history in particular. As if the history of Black people is somehow capable of “disturbing the peace” just by existing, and being accessible to people who are interested in it.

But I suppose it’s part of why I do this, because we’re at that point, and we’ve been at that point in the U.S. for a while now.

When I speak on how history is constantly being reshaped to serve the present, this is one of the uglier sides of that. Although I try to show how histories that have been marginalized or erased can be celebrated, it’s almost impossible to do so without also taking into account the pressure that is constantly happening to shove it back to the margins, or to push it out of the sphere of human knowledge entirely.

When it comes down to it, the visual nature of this blog undermines the constant devaluation our society and culture directs aggressively towards Black Americans. It creates a conflict by showing an art style and origin that we’ve been conditioned and trained to value above other styles, but with subjects we are conditioned to devalue. The way people react to this conflict says a lot about them, and their values. For many it is uplifting, enlightening, and illuminating. Other react as if they’re being attacked. I don’t think I really need to state explicitly what factors associate with which reactions.

But honestly, do I really need to argue, does anyone need to argue that THIS has VALUE?

[Alessandro Longhi; Portrait of a Young Black Man. Italy (c. 1760s)]

What about the fact that Millie and Christine McCoy existed, and spoke five languages, sang and danced, and traveled the world? Does celebrating their existence and their fascinating lives somehow “disturb the peace”?

Is it somehow disruptive to society to celebrate the life and achievements of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, a learned West African cleric whose memoirs were read across Europe?

What’s being removed? The thesis of Jacobus Ioannes Eliza Capitein?

Or the works of Alexander Pushkin, the father of modern Russian Literature?

The works of of Alexandre Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo?

Are we somehow causing society to break down because we know Saint Maurice existed?

We’re expected to “prove” this history has value? That it is important?

[Allegory of Music; Italy c. 1670s]

Maybe we should ask: what happens when these histories are erased?

We are left in a world where we could possibly never know the name or the life of this woman, seen in a photograph that was found on Ebay:

I can give countless more individual examples, and in fact I do so every day. The MPoC Tumblr alone has more than 5,000 entries. In the end, I have no idea how to explain to someone (whose job is ostensibly to preserve and celebrate history) that priceless knowledge and objects should NOT be tossed away like trash or shoved under the rug because of racism.

History is important. Water is wet. Human lives have value.

We are enriched by learning from the past, and acknowledging its bearing on our present. Erasing information undermines our humanity. These aren’t just ideas, this affects people living right now. It affects you, me, and anyone reading this.

I refuse to stand by and let this happen. I will continue to write about, share images from, and discuss marginalized histories as long as I have breath.