Exploring media images of African Americans

February 5, 2001
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EDITORS: Feb. 1-28 is traditionally Black HisUtory Month.

ANN ARBOR—”A Sense of Justice: A Mass Media Perspective” exhibited at the University of Michigan’s Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library explores the link between media images and the movements for justice for African Americans.

Charles E. Simmons, while a journalism professor at Howard University, and his grandparents, began this collection of newspapers, advertisement, post cards, posters, documents, paintings and prints from the late 1700s through the 1960s.

The exhibit concentrates on the misinformation about the transatlantic slave trade prior to the American Revolution and places new emphasis on the leadership role of Blacks and women in the struggles for human rights during the abolitionist movement, Reconstruction, and women’s rights. It also depicts images of Blacks as workers, athletes and journalists and ends with the arrest of Angela Davis.

Simmons, who began the collection in the 1960s, continues to add items relating to media, gender and racial memorabilia begun by his grandparents who participated in the Detroit labor and women’s movements more than 60 years ago. Simmons places stereotypical images in the context of the struggle for human rights in the United States and the world.

“A Sense of Justice: A Mass Media Perspective” will continue through Feb. 28 in the North Lobby of U-M’s Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. The library is open 8 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Thursday; 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 p.m.-10 p.m. Sundays. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

[Map of Central Campus, Hatcher Graduate Library near center

Harlan Hatcher Graduate LibraryCharles E. SimmonsMap of Central Campus