“River Bend Reunion” by John Holyfield
For this exhibit, the TIPHC builds on the 2021 national Black History Month theme, The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity: “The black family has been a topic of study in many disciplines—history, literature, the visual arts, and film studies, sociology, anthropology, and social policy. Its representation, identity, and diversity have been reverenced, stereotyped, and vilified from the days of slavery to our own time…the family offers a rich tapestry of images for exploring the African American past and present.”
Far from an exhaustive study of this complex topic, we offer through historic and contemporary photos and images, examples of how black families were defined in Western Africa before their forced removal in chains to North American colonies in the 1600s, how family structures and traditions were broken yet survived enslavement and how the media – TV, movies, magazines, etc. – have both advanced and distorted the perceptions of black families, bolstering racist stereotypes but also displaying families’ loving kinship, togetherness, success, and support.
Exhibit Pages
Identity – The identity of the Black Family is a product of time and circumstance but its roots lie in Africa. While Africa’s place as the origin of the Americas black populations is indisputable the historical role of the African family structure, culture and its subsequent influence on the African American family has been debated by the cultural ethnocentric and cultural relativity schools of thought over the years.
Endurance – Slavery not only inhibited family formation but made stable, secure family life impossible. That may have dampened spirits, but Black families clutched undeniable hope for freedom and reunion with their spouses, children, and other family members who had been moved to other plantations locally or in other states. Post-emancipation, there were successes.
Perception – A look through the years at how Black families have been portrayed on stage, screen, television, and other media formats.