Not sure if I’ve ever shared this on the blog, but I love museums! The history, the culture, the art! I’m here for it all!
I had been longing to visit the Houston Holocaust Museum to view the Kinsey African-American Art & History Collection and finally made it. The exhibit really captivated me. I went alone which enabled me to go at my own pace and to really get lost in the collection. It was a rainy Thursday afternoon so I practically had the entire collection to myself which was another bonus.
I enjoyed the entire exhibition, but there were 3 pieces that especially stood out to me.
Door of No Return
This is a door from a former slave trading outpost. Africans were forced through doors such as this onto slave ships bound for America.
This moving and powerful part of the exhibit is amongst some of the first pieces encountered. It’s complex because while it evokes a sense of sadness, there is also a sense of power in this piece. The doors that shut our ancestors out of opportunity and held them hostage, now lets visitors in to a dimension that celebrates Black contributions to the world, honors our struggle, and further solidifies our place in history.
The Cultivators
This Samuel Dunson piece is such a contrast and so much more empowering than images of Black people picking cotton. It is a depiction of the Kinsey family – father, mother, and son. My takeaway from this piece is that “books plant seeds from which knowledge grows.” As noted on the description, the mother is taking care to wipe off the book, the man is well dressed which denotes the importance of this task, and the son is reading The Prophet by Kahilil Gibran. Since the Kinsey’s son’s name is Kahilil, I take it that Dunson took care to include this as perhaps their son is the namesake of this famed author.
Collection of Memorabilia
This collection of memorabilia featured some of my favorite people in Black history. It made mention of my heroine, beauty tycoon Madam C. J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire noting that she was a property owner in Idlewild Michigan, a vacationing spot for middle-class and affluent Black families. I have greatly admired Madam C. J. Walker since high school and did an entire project with her as the subject during that time. Also featured here is the funeral program of my favorite poet, Langston Hughes. I used to hand write his poems into a notebook when I was in college so that I could read my favorites without having to look them up each time. One other thing I found special is the women’s suffrage poster. It reminds me of the Women’s Suffrage March which was the first public act of service of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (the sorority of which I am a proud member).
There were many other pieces that wowed me and so many things I made note of so that I can do deeper dives and learn more.
For example, through this exhibit, I was introduced to the work of still life painter Charles Ethan Porter through his painting Lilacs (below). Y’all know I love florals so the floral painting and learning of Porter’s contributions to the art world through my additional research have me hooked.
I really like his paintings Peonies in a Vase and Mountain Laurel and hope to add them to my art collection someday (when I get one).
I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Kinsey family for sharing their collection and would encourage any and everyone to check out this exhibit. So much history and such a beautiful celebration and reclamation of African-American culture and history. Find out more about the Holocaust Museum and the Kinsey Collection and take note, if you’re looking to save some coin, admission is free on Thursdays from 2p-5p..
