To mark this year’s bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, a thought-provoking new exhibition explores the racist thinking behind the transatlantic slave trade and looks at the role that Victorian institutions and museums played in perpetuating racial stereotypes.
Myths about Race is an ongoing exhibition at The Manchester Museum, running as part of the Revealing Histories: Remembering Slavery project which is taking place at eight museums and galleries across Greater Manchester.
Objects and images on display reveal how racist ideas were supported by museums, due to a large extent to the scientific racism that emerged in the 19th century. Alongside this is material from individuals and organisations in Manchester who have worked to dispel these myths.
With the aim of making people think about the role of the museum in constructing racial stereotypes, the exhibition looks at the three key myths at the heart of racist thinking.
These include the notion that different ethnic groups formed a hierarchy, with African people being somehow less ‘evolved’ than Europeans; that the Ancient Egyptians were white, as perpetuated in films such as Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor; and that the enslaved Africans were victims or merely objects of pity.
Ornate African objects are displayed alongside material from anti-racist campaigns and racist images that at the time were considered to be ‘scientific’. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to question the displays and contribute to discussions, and these responses will help shape how material is displayed in future.
Sam Alberti, Lecturer and Research Fellow at The Manchester Museum, said: “We involved a wide group of activists, collectors, academics, curators and archivists, from inside and outside the Museum to create this exhibition. We want to provoke debate and discussion around the issues. You may or may not agree with what we say, but we encourage you to respond.”
One of the most shocking exhibits in the show is the 18th-century scientific treatise, An Account of the Regular Gradation, by the physician Charles White. Written in 1799, the book includes a scale of humankind that shows the 'negro' as being the lowest form of life and compares Africans to animals. This includes the famous illustration showing the ascending sizes of brains of animals and man, with the African brain being at the lower end of the scale.
The curators decided to include such disturbing artefacts in order to illustrate how racist ideas were officially sanctioned by the presiding scientific community of the day, and also to use them as a platform for discussion.
Another exhibit from an anti-racism campaign uses the myth of the intellectual inferiority of African people in order to put out a strong message about racism. The 1990s poster from the European Youth Campaign Against Racism exposes this racist notion by showing four brains, with the one that is smaller than the others labelled ‘Racist’.
There is an exciting programme of events linked to the exhibition that kicks off with the Myth about Race Opening Day on Saturday August 25, during which there will be tours, African storytelling and the opportunity to handle objects.
A powerful performance entitled This Accursed Thing, which looks at the slave trade through the eyes of people who were there, will take place around the museum from Saturday August 25 to Wednesday August 29.
Related events organised for October to coincide with Black History Month include a debate entitled Are Museums Racist? to be held on Thursday October 4, 6.30-8pm. Led by a discussion panel, the debate will centre on some of the responses to the Myths about Race exhibition from members of the public. Revealing Histories, a day of family-oriented activities with slave trade themes, takes place on Saturday October 27, 1-4pm.
Later in the year, Dr Gareth Griffiths from Manchester University will conduct a seminar focusing on the foundation of the British Empire and the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. Presenting Contested Pasts is on Wednesday December 5 2007, 3-5pm.
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