Repurposing Historical Fragments

3. What do you think of Glenn Ligon‘s artwork entitled RUNAWAYS? What part of it is of the most interest to you and why?  Also, what did you think of the related INTERWOVEN exhibit in Brownsburg, VA?  What part of it is of most interest to you and why? Be sure to be very specific!

     In “Runaways,” Glenn Ligon cunningly implements the classified ads that slave owners used to describe fugitive slaves in order to display how his friends would describe him. I found Ligons’ work tongue-in-cheek but not disrespectful to runaway slaves. In a way, he is utilizing Black ancestors’ sacrifice and suffering to create his own sense of identity and pride, as the various descriptions of himself on the ads represent certain appreciable aspects of himself, including being “stylish,” wearing a “big smile,” and being “very articulate.” Ligon has effectively transformed the almost exclusively impersonal descriptions of slaves found in the actual historical ads into personal and intimate descriptions of himself. I find this repurposing of a horrific historical phenomenon clever and empowering for Black folks in America, as they can appreciate and comprehend the toil that slaves underwent throughout history. However, it should be noted that not everything in Ligon’s “Runaways” represents him on a personal level; for example, descriptions like “black male,” “small build,” and “very short cropped hair” remind me of real runaway slave ads, which featured very similar details with respect to the slaves. I think that Ligon, and, by extension, his friends that wrote the ad descriptions, purposefully included the aforementioned impersonal characteristics of a human being in order to remind the viewer of how Black bodies are still being objectified and policed in society today, and much progress is still necessary.

     Regarding the “Interwoven” exhibit at the Brownsburg Museum, I greatly appreciated how the exhibit demonstrated closure and continuity of one family’s story (the Haliburtons), which helped me connect to their lives on a much deeper level than what a general synopsis of slavery in America would have accomplished. Also, labeling each displayed quote with “descendant” instead of the name of the speaker added to the poignancy of the exhibit, as it felt as if all the descendants of the slaves in the exhibit were all connected with interwoven stories. The most intriguing part of the exhibit for me was the description of the establishment of Liberia and its capital, Monrovia, in West Africa. I knew Liberia existed as a result of American efforts, but I did not realize that the group that established this territory–the American Colonization Society–had the goal of creating a homeland to deal with an ever-increasing free Black population. I find it interesting and saddening that certain elite Americans wanted to oust free Blacks simply because they deemed an increasing free Black population to be a problem. The letter from William Haliburton–who successfully landed in Liberia–to his family letting them know he had survived the journey also struck me as special, heartwarming, and almost too good to be true, since Black voices were often so silenced during his time. Overall, I loved the intimacy present in the Brownsburg exhibit.

     Lastly, here is a song from Kendrick Lamar that I think aligns with Glenn Ligon’s intention of selecting racist and horrific historical phenomena and repurposing them into sources of pride for Black folks. Specifically, the outro from Kendrick Lamar accomplishes this purpose.