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Many universities are examining their histories and discovering their connections to slave labor and Indigenous dispossession. This symposium highlighted the ongoing efforts and research in the areas of slavery, dispossession, and restorative justice, with a focus on the legacy of racism and its enduring effects at Emory University. The sessions included creative interpretations and dialogue, with a primary focus on the perspectives of Black, Native American, and Indigenous peoples. 

• See the online program schedule for a complete list of sessions and our complementary programming for related and ongoing exhibitions.
   
• Watch a brief overview of the symposium, and visit the session playlist on YouTube.
   
• Did you attend? We would love to know about your experience via this short survey.

Related Links

• Symposium Steering Committee Members
• Emory Native American Initiative
• Task Force on Untold Stories and Disenfranchised Populations
• University of Virginia: Universities Studying Slavery

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"Actually, I still need a lot of work as a human being, but I am a far better person today than I was before I embraced the many teachings that I’ve read.” - William II, “Finding My Spiritual Outlook In Books”

The artwork and literature showcased in this exhibit highlight the intelligence and talent of a student body that society often tries to forget.  Incarcerated men at Phillips State Prison in Buford, Georgia, created the works between 2008 and 2015 in courses sponsored by Common Good Atlanta, a nonprofit organization which was accredited by Georgia State University.  The program continues today to provide a platform for incarcerated individuals to earn credit towards a degree, exercise critical thinking skills, and express themselves within an institution that systematically seeks to strip individuals of their autonomy.

"Archives, those which document the lives of African American artists, are essential to telling the complex stories relative to the development of black life in 20th and 21st century America." – Pellom McDaniels III, Curator of African American Collections

Due to COVID-19, travel for this exhibition has been suspended.

“Speak What Must Be Spoken: Art, Archives, and Activism” is the culmination of projects initiated in 2016 around the theme of black art and activism by the late Pellom McDaniels III, Rose Library’s curator of African American collections. McDaniels curated “Still Raising Hell: The Art, Activism, and Archives of Camille Billops and James V. Hatch,” a major exhibition in the Emory Libraries main gallery during 2016-2017.  

Emory Libraries selected “Still Raising Hell” as the basis for the Libraries first K-12 exhibit to serve community schools. Barbara Coble of Emory University’s Graduation Generation Education Partnership joined the Libraries’ team and led the development of curriculum aligning with state standards for excellence supporting fine arts classes and social studies and English/language arts. 

The Libraries exhibitions team adapted elements of the original exhibition and created new elements for installation in a school setting. "Speak What Must Be Spoken" now consists of 10 units that can be used alone or combined with others.

Emory University Graduation Generation Education Partnership

"The World Between Word and Image: Artists’ Books and Archives from Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Nexus Contemporary Art Center, and Nexus Press" presents archival material from the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Nexus Contemporary Art Center, and Nexus Press collection held by the Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. It features approximately 15 artists’ books displayed at a time in three cases. A fresh crop of books focusing on new themes will be rotated in every three months. A fourth case will feature archival material from records of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, the parent organization of Nexus Press.

At this time, the three thematic cases are as follows:

1. "What Is a Book?" 
2. "History, Memory, and the Reinterpretation of Tradition"
3. "Photography" 

Weekdays: Free after 5pm | Weekends: Free

"A colorful cast of characters shaped post-World War II American literature and culture."

The exhibition reconsiders postwar literature and the ways it mirrored, predicted, and remade the culture around it, with special focus on the influential group known as “the Beats.” Pulling from the Rose Library’s rich literary collections, especially the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library, the show rediscovers a number of fascinating countercultural writers and will be the first major consideration of the Beats in the U.S. in nearly a decade.

Weekdays: Free after 5pm | Weekends: Free

"This exhibition reflects on this dynamic couple's commitment to speak truth to power and explores the meaning and purpose of African American art." 

As artists, activists, and collectors, Billops and Hatch have been raising hell for more than 50 years - elevating public consciousness around "isms" that have shaped American culture, politics, and identities. Since 2002 the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library has been home to the comprehensive collection - playscripts, photographs, works of art, and more - of these two leading stewards of African American history.

Weekdays: Free after 5pm | Weekends: Free

Join us and help bring to life a treasure trove of materials that illuminates the African American experience from the late 19th century to the present.

Ensure the Billops-Hatch collection continues to influence, inspire, and empower. Become a sponsor today at emorylib.info/support-billops-hatch or contact Alex Wan at alex.wan@emory.edu or 404.727.5386

"See a variety of artists' books, from miniatures to books created through the Phillips State Prison Book Project."

Artists’ books are artworks that purposefully make use of, question, or explore the form of the book as an artistic medium. These pieces are usually made in small, limited editions or as unique works of art.

What you will see in this exhibition are examples of a bookmaking tradition that has been active for over 500 years. Like the First Folio, these artists’ books are not just repositories of stories and information, but are also exquisite and beautiful works of art.

Weekdays: Free after 5pm | Weekends: Free

Artists’ Books Showcase website

Panel Discussion

This exhibit is meant to give researchers and curious students alike a peak inside the collections of 9 African American women intellectuals, that are held in the Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. Amber L. Moore, the curator and a project archivist in Rose, has selected items from each of the 9 collections to present.

Weekdays: Free after 5pm | Weekends: Free

"... punk's harsh sounds and in-your-face style influenced fashion, art, film, and writing ..."

"Punk’s Not Dead" tracks punk influence beyond music as it travels into written, visual, and material culture. Highlighting objects from the Rose Library’s punk collections as well as writing by Emory students, this exhibit invites you to consider how community and art shape one another.

Weekdays: Free after 5pm | Weekends: Free

"These collections help reflect the primacy of nature in Shakespearean drama, where characters consistently encounter flowers, vegetables, potions, and poisons that influence their fates."

Emory’s Herbarium and Dr. Harry Rusche’s collection of Shakespearean-themed postcards help us illustrate the plants mentioned in the First Folio.  The Herbarium was established in 1949 to document and monitor plants used in research, medicine, and other significant endeavors.  These collections help reflect the primacy of nature in Shakespearean drama, where characters consistently encounter flowers, vegetables, potions, and poisons that influence their fates.

Weekdays: Free after 5pm | Weekends: Free