WGS INTERSECTIONS AT THE HALSEY

Posted on October 31, 2024 by thomaspr

WGS INTERSECTIONS AT THE HALSEY

AFFILIATE FACULTY DISCUSS ARTIST LA VAUGHN BELLE

WRITTEN BY WGS EDITORIAL CONTENT PRODUCER INTERN, SOFIA WILKINSON (she/her)

La Vaughn Belle: When The Land Meets The Body was an exhibition at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art from August 25-December 9, 2023. According to the Halsey’s description: “In this exhibition, La Vaughn Belle seeks to explore the relationship of history, land, and the bodies between them.” When the Land Meets the Body presents a selection of existing work and new commissioned works inspired by the Lowcountry landscape. Through this process, Belle will consider the idea that who we are individually and collectively is a product of historical processes often represented in the landscape. Over the last decade, Belle’s work has been centered in decolonial art practices that challenge the narratives in colonial archives. With this project, she weaved biography and history to create interventions in historical sites and considered how landscapes and ecosystems are manipulated by those who live within them.”

La Vaughn Belle is a renowned artist known for making visible the unremembered through painting, video, photography, installation, writing, and public interventions. Moderated by librarian Mary Jo Fairchild, WGS affiliate faculty members Deborah Bidwell (Senior Instructor of Biology), Mari Crabtree (Associate Professor of African American Studies), and Shannon Eaves (Associate Professor of History) discuss Belle’s exhibition When the Land Meets the Body. Along with making visible the unremembered, Bidwell, Crabtree, and Eaves dive into themes of rebellion and nature, rebellion and the body, and decolonizing art archives and identities.

Before we delve into the works featured in the exhibit, let’s get to know the scholars in conversation. Shannon Eaves is an author, historian, and associate professor of African American History. Eaves’ areas of expertise include 19th-century U.S. and African American History, along with slavery and gender in the antebellum South. Along with Eaves, scholar Deborah Bidwell is a senior instructor at the College of Charleston with a scientific background in biomimicry. Fairchild describes Bidwell as a “Biomimic biologist, educator, entrepreneur, optimist, leader, and explorer.” Also in conversation is Mari Crabtree, writer and former associate professor of African American Studies at the College of Charleston (now at Emerson College). Moderator Fairchild describes the established professor as “an interdisciplinary scholar; her research blends black studies, cultural studies, history, and literature. She seeks to excavate black life beyond the binary of suffering or resistance by exploring how culture provides a lens for understanding the struggle of black liberation but also black ingenuity, joy, and love.”All three of these accomplished scholars explore the theme of rebellion through land, body, and history in La Vaughn Belle’s exhibit.

Beginning with the series Swarm , Belle cut and burned through images from colonial archives of the Danish West Indies to create a “swarm” effect. With themes of rebellion and the body and decolonizing art archives and identities, these images (pictured below) are powerful.

At first glance, the swarm is evident. It may seem almost random, but as you look closer you can see the swarm is intentional. Eaves reminds the audience that due to the time period, these images are carefully curated. It’s true, think about it, they didn’t have access to a high-resolution handheld camera that could take multiple images a minute. When they wanted to take a picture, they had to plan, sit still, and then capture the moment. And they chose to include Black people. They were able to portray Black people in specific ways and, in a way curate them to create the “perfect” photo. Belle takes this exploitation of black bodies and reclaims it, creating a swarm of cuts and burns around their bodies and through the bodies of the white people. Eaves says, “By creating these swarms through these cuts, it shows [the] obscuring [of] the power structure that once intended to subjugate those people and now bring[s] them to the forefront.” It is a rebellion of the body.

While exploring the theme of decolonizing art archives, Mari Crabtree mentions how redaction is important in reclaiming and waking work. Yet, Belle doesn’t redact these harmful images. She leaves both narratives.

They are left intentionally, just as they are cut and burned intentionally. Look closely at the image below and tell me those cuts and burns are not intentional. That they are not an act of reclamation.

Belle’s work, and especially this exhibit, is centered around nature. While Swarm touches on the subjects of rebellion and the body along with decolonizing art archives, the “Storm” series focuses on rebellion in nature. Belle’s studio was hit during Hurricane Maria, causing most of the materials to be ruined. But instead of throwing out the now ruined paper that scattered her studio, Belle created an archive of the storm. Bidwell states, “With the storm in particular that we’re looking at when we’re thinking about the power of hurricanes and the imagery she’s using and the palm trees in these works in particular. And the resilience of those trees, the palm is embodying resilience, in a storm.”

Dissecting each piece of paper used in the artwork, one can see the use of palm trees and nature throughout the island while also incorporating scraps found in her studio. The palm trees resist the storm while the torn pieces of paper remember the storm. The storm is not forgotten, but it is rebelled and reframed. In the words of Eaves, “Storm captures the fragile nature of human life, the fragile nature of land but also the resilience of the land and the resilience of people to be able to weather storms and to maybe not be what they used to be but to emerge as something different.”

Similarly to the Storm series, Bidwell discusses the rebellion in nature present in Effluvia, a short video in which Belle engages with the marshes and swamps of the Lowcountry. Bidwell specifically brings up the scene where La Vaughn Belle moves through the marsh. Belle walks through the marsh, moving the water, and the water moves her. It is a mutual relationship where Belle isn’t afraid of what’s in the water. One where she’s just present, she’s in it. The water that was once moved with the bodies of enslaved people was now moving with Belle. The water has persevered because, as we often forget, humans are not the center of things.

The last piece is titled For Those Of Us Who Live At the Shoreline. This part of the exhibition is a series of digital collages. Bidwell invites us to think about the plants used in the collage. How the plants are all Caribbean and carefully chosen. These collages remind us of where the border between two ecosystems meets: land and water. Not only their connection but the reconnection of the body to the land. In Bidwell’s words, “Purposely connecting the body to place.” This is evident in the pieces. The collage below shows a woman lying there while Caribbean plants begin to grow over her body, reconquering by the land. These pieces are symbols of the reconnection of land and body. A reclaiming of nature through the rebellion of the body.

La Vaughn Belle’s exhibition, When the Land Meets the Body, as discussed by Shannon Eaves, Deborah Bidwell, and Mari Crabtree, offers a profound exploration of the themes of rebellion, nature, and decolonization. Through the cutting and burning of archival images in Swarm, Belle reclaims and reframes the historical subjugation of Black bodies, turning symbols of oppression into powerful acts of reclamation. The Storm series further emphasizes resilience, illustrating how both nature and humanity endure and transform through adversities. Similarly, Effluvia and For Those Of Us Who Live At the Shoreline highlight Belle’s intricate relationship with nature, showcasing the dynamic interplay and mutual resilience between humans and the natural world. This exhibit shows that Belle doesn’t merely recall history; she actively engages with it, challenging and dismantling colonial narratives while fostering a deeper connection between land, body, and history.

BLACK FEMINISM IS FOR EVERYBODY

Posted on October 31, 2024 by thomaspr

A panel discussion with three professors, Dr. Kameelah Martin, Dr. Regine Jean Charles, and Dr. Lauren Ravalico on state during Diaspora, Conflict Bodies, and The Power of Art panel discussion. — Dr. Kameelah Martin, Dr. Régine Jean Charles, and WGS Director Dr. Lauren Ravalico during their segment at the panel discussion Diaspora, Conflict Bodies, and the Power of Art. Photo credit: Priscilla Thomas

BLACK FEMINISM IS FOR EVERYBODY

Diaspora, Conflict Bodies, and The Power of Art

WRITTEN BY WGS EDITORIAL CONTENT PRODUCER INTERN, SOFIA WILKINSON (she/her)

This discussion panel illuminated the intricate connections of resilience, resistance, and reclamation woven by Black feminists and survivors alike. The first segment features Dr. Kameelah Martin (she/her) and Dr. Régine Jean-Charles in a conversation moderated by WGS Director Dr. Lauren Ravalico about female conjuring as a Black feminist spiritual practice.

The idea that Black women can call upon their ancestors to obtain ancient knowledge has always been a massive part of Black feminism. Black women across the diaspora use this knowledge as a survival skill. In other words, their unique knowledge and connection to the land allows them to survive.

Dr. Jean-Charles then offers her insight on this conjuring, saying, “I love the idea of conjuring women because I think that that’s what Black feminist theorists have always been doing. Always. Right? They’ve been conjuring; they’ve been calling down the spirits for their survival.” These themes of bodies surviving and their interaction with the land across the diaspora were precisely the point of this panel. Dr. Martin and Dr. Jean-Charles further the conversation on Black feminism, reminding the audience that you don’t need to be Black to practice Black feminism.

WGS alum Cady Walker, Dr. Régine Jean Charles (Land, Body, History's Scholar-in-Residence) and Dr. Lauren Ravalico (WGS Director and French, Francophone and Italian Studies). — Cady Walker ‘23, Dr. Régine Jean Charles (Land, Body, History’s Scholar-in-Residence) and Dr. Lauren Ravalico (WGS Director and French, Francophone and Italian Studies). Photos credit: Priscilla Thomas

Dr. Jean-Charles offers a quote from an interview that her mentor, Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin, did with Ms. Magazine: “Black feminism has never only been about Black women. It’s never been this. It’s about a more just world and a planet that said, if you listen to the insights of the least of these, which is us, that we can do something transformative.” Black feminism is about conjuring, transforming, and surviving.

These insights remind us that the personal is indeed political and that true empowerment lies in amplifying voices long silenced and honoring the complexity of lived experiences while acknowledging the both/and. Through the power of art and literature, conflict bodies across the diaspora can conjure feminism and ancient knowledge as a means of survival.

LESSONS IN THE LAND

Posted on October 1, 2024 by thomaspr

LESSONS IN THE LAND

Landscapes and Portraits: Wadmalaw Island

WRITTEN BY AND PHOTOS BY WGS ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR, PRISCILLA THOMAS ‘07 (she/her)

Wadmalaw Island is known for its rural serenity, with kudzu-tangled vistas, moss-draped oaks, and lush maritime forests. This island is where WGS’s inaugural Community Leader-in-Residence, Tamika “Mika” Gadsden (she/her), led a study-away day trip for College of Charleston students, faculty, and staff. Mika described this immersive educational experience as “a journey through communal and personal history on this unique body of land.”

The study-away was a family affair with Mika’s father, Benjamin (he/him), co-leading the tour. At 84 years young, Benjamin grew up on Wadmalaw Island. His childhood memories recall boyhood adventures framed within the iniquities of systemic racism. Benjamin’s experiences came to mind when Mika agreed to host this event. She explains, “Concerning the Land, Body, History series, my experiences as a Gullah descendant fueled my passion for amplifying marginalized narratives and challenging dominant historical narratives.” She continues, “That’s partly why I asked my dad to help give a tour of his native Wadmalaw Island. By drawing on my personal and local Lowcountry history, we’re better able to understand the past more clearly. Thus, we can work to dismantle oppressive structures, including vestiges of what my family has had to contend with.” A facet of these oppressive structures is the land where these histories take place.

Students, staff, and faculty listen to Benjamin Gadsden speak about his experiences growing up on Wadmalaw Island, SC — Top: WGS Community Leader-in-Residence, Tamika “Mika” Gadsden, with her father, Benjamin Gadsden, leading the Study-Away Day Trip, starting at Historic P.M King’s, now HUM Grocery on Wadmalaw Island. Bottom: Tanner Crunelle ‘20 (WGS), WGS affiliate faculty Dr. Hollis France (Chair, Political Science), Selynne Ancheta (Director of Development, Halsey Institute), and Kaylee Lass (Director of Exhibitions, Halsey Institute) listen to Wadamalan, Benjamin Gadsden.

The group’s history lesson began on a dirt lot outside of Historic P.M. King’s, now reincarnated as HUM Grocery. Just shy of the Rockville town line, this small-town store greets patrons with a rustic storefront. Two faded yellow Sunbeam bread signs bookend the store’s name. Other handmade signs hang from the roof’s eaves to entice visitors with “BEER & ICE,” “BBQ,” and “LUNCH.”

Current owners Natalie and Andrew Humphrey outline the mart’s mission “to share hometown hospitality while providing high quality, local, and seasonal foods to feed our community.” This mission continues the plight of the original owner and founder, Preston King. With no grocery store nearby in Rockville, King opened the store in 1947. It remained a family business until about 2009. Nine years would pass before the Humphreys would come along to revitalize the historic site to once again serve the island community.

Benjamin Gadsden with daughter, Tamika Gadsden, discussing their experiences on Wadmalaw Island. — Benjamin Gadsden with daughter, Tamika Gadsden, discussing their experiences growing up on Wadmalaw Island.

This store serves as a different landmark for Mr. Gadsden. A few yards from the HUM’s lot, Maybank Hwy and Cherry Point Rd intersect. When he was younger, this was considered a boundary line. Going past this intersection meant nearing Rockville town lines, where only white folks lived. In addition, much of the island didn’t provide certain services to Black people. Oftentimes, Mr. Gadsden would go into the city, especially when he needed items like a new suit. Decades later, Mika moved to the island with her family while in high school. By then, Jim Crow laws were gone, but the remnants of their effects on the community and its people remained.

Reflecting on the impact of Mr. Gadsden’s experiences, WGS Executive Committee member and Assistant Professor of History Elisa Jones (she/her) says, “As he shared the indignities of traveling to school and work on the island that came along with racial segregation, he mentioned that he has still never been to Folly Beach

because he was not welcome there when he was young.” She adds, “His experience of the geography of Charleston is charged with his lived experience of its history. Where Black bodies were not welcome are empty places in the mental map of his home. History is

not ‘past’; it is felt and constantly present.” History never rests. It’s a constant presence that not only resides in the mental maps of individuals but also within the community consciousness, where generational histories can haunt the land.

Scenes from the Wadmalaw Island Study-Away Day Trip, part of the WGS Land, Body, History series, September 2023.

Visiting spaces where social inequities and injustices have occurred provides a more profound understanding than merely reading words in a book can. WGS affiliate faculty and Chair of Political Science Hollis France (she/her), shares her thoughts on this, “The study away experience on Wadmalaw Island offered a unique opportunity to be fully immersed in the study of a place beyond the confines of a traditional classroom setting.” She elaborates, “By engaging with the teaching and knowledge systems of the African American community on the island, we were able to confront histories of erasure and recognize our collective and individual responsibilities as a campus community.” These responsibilities task residents to do better. Confronting histories of erasure has never been limited to the distant past when there are agents actively working to erase the experiences and histories of marginalized voices. But what may not be taught in a classroom can always be taught by the land and its people.

One such person serving as a changemaker within the community has been Mika herself. She says, “Being raised with a firm understanding of my parents’ struggles against systemic oppression in both North and South Carolina amid apartheid-like conditions has instilled in me a profound commitment to social justice and equity.” She adds, “Because of this awareness, my sensibilities allow me to naturally emphasize the importance of having a sound liberation and class analysis, which helps me better engage with students and community members alike.” The Land, Body, History series allowed Mika to do just that. She says, “My participation in this series has been deeply inspiring, as it has allowed me to connect with fellow disruptors, content creators, and community members who share a commitment to building a more equitable world. I hope that hearing stories of resilience and resistance, mine or others, will reaffirm other’s belief in the power of collective action.”

Mika’s and her father’s stories are as impactful as she hopes. WGS alum and Ph.D. candidate Tanner Crunelle (he/him) touches on such in his takeaways from the study-away: “The Wadmalaw day trip left me with a precious new perspective on our home. The way Mika and her father shared their lived experience was steeped in feminist, Black, working-class consciousness as it’s lived out in this specific place, with its particular history of political struggle. I think our questions and curiosities were not extractive but invited a collaborative consideration of where we are.” Tanner continues, “We also had plenty of time to immerse ourselves in the island’s natural environment, which was calming, and built community and care in our program by spending time with one another.” He concludes, “As Mika’s culminating engagement as Community Leader-in-Residence, this experience emblematizes how we’ve been striving to make the WGS program responsive to the local community in pursuit of a resilient and connected South.”

A connected South means reconciling the past with the present. Doing so requires acknowledging and affirming the experiences of community members and being mindful that a community has the right to choose how progress manifests for the land and its people. The campus community is not isolated. Students and faculty are part of communities beyond its red bricks, where they learn invaluable lessons from the land and the people and can become part of the collective action to bring forth necessary change.

THE ROOT AND THE ROUTE

Posted on October 1, 2024October 15, 2024 by thomaspr

THE ROOT AND THE ROUTE:

West African Foodways: Talk and Taste

WRITTEN BY WGS EDITORIAL CONTENT PRODUCER INTERN, SOFIA WILKINSON (she/her), PHOTOS BY REESE MOORE (she/her)

Grouper, broken rice, tomatoes, yuka, and cabbage are just a few of the ingredients in the traditional dish of Senegal, thieboudienne (“tea-boo-Jen”). Thieboudienne (pictured below) translates to “rice and fish” and is cooked with vegetables, herbs, and spices in a rich tomato sauce. But thieboudienne is more than a meal; it represents Senegal’s culinary identity through its spices and cooking methods. Although it Three women and one man discuss Senegalese cuisine at West African Foodways event, a part of the Land Body History series may seem like a simple dish, it has a history as rich as its sauce. This discussion, cooking demo, and sampling explore thieboudienne’s origins.

In this discussion, moderated by WGS Director, Dr. Lauren Ravalico, with WGS Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Régine Michelle Jean-Charles, Chef Bintou N’Daw Young, and History and African Studies Assistant Professor Dr. John Cropper, discuss the history of how thieboudienne came to be.

Before we dive into the multifaceted history of the dish we must first acknowledge the foodways of the dish. Jean-Charles refers to foodways as “how food moves throughout the continent, but also, the diaspora.” She emphasizes the importance of knowing and acknowledging what she calls the “roots” and “routes” within Africana Studies and the diaspora. We often focus on the origin of things without thinking about how they even got there in the first place, or in this case, the “route” they took to get there. Of course, it is important to acknowledge that thieboudienne is an African dish, but versions are also present in the Caribbean and the tomatoes came from the “New World.” Thus, we begin to see the foodways “roots” and “routes” unfold.

Cropper describes thieboudienne as “historically dynamic” and reminds us that tomatoes are not native to Africa. Tomatoes were introduced in 1492 after “Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Yet, N’Daw Young reminds us that because Saint-Louis, Senegal, is a port of trade, new foods were constantly being brought in. Specifically, it was the Portuguese who brought stew and tomatoes to Senegal’s port city. These items were discovered by the Wolof. Furthermore, the recipe calls for rice, which originates from China.

Quote from Land, Body, History event: West African Foodways Nonetheless, the star of the show is Senegalese. The fish, one of the main ingredients, is a staple in Senegal. So, although this dish consists of “New World” ingredients that ended up in Africa, the way it is cooked and the spices and herbs make it a Senegalese specialty. We get thieboudienne by using staple foods like fish and conch and throwing Africanized tomatoes, spices, and herbs all in one pot.

The diversity of ingredients is not the only thing that makes this dish special. The fact that this dish is constantly “en route” makes it a great example of foodways and the way food is affected by diaspora.

Variations of thieboudienne are present in many African and Caribbean countries. Whether it’s a difference in spices or not including an ingredient, thieboudienne has become a popular dish throughout the diaspora. We now know that thieboudienne is rooted in the “New World” but en route with the African diaspora. Furthermore, thieboudienne is not the only example of foodways brought up in the discussion and demonstration.

N’Daw Young provided the audience with the traditional dish she learned from her grandmother and a popular juice drink in Senegal called Audience at Land, Body, History event: West African Foodways sorrel. Sorrel is also known as Vsop but predominantly known as Hibiscus. This juice, when made in Senegal, is quite simple, yet much like thieboudienne, this juice is constantly “en route.” In the Caribbean, they add more stuff like ginger and other ingredients. Where I am from in Mexico, it is called Agua de Jamaica and consists of sugar, hibiscus, and water. In Mexico, Hibiscus, being called Jamaica, is a perfect example of the root and the route. Because it is common in Jamaica, the name stuck. Despite this, the same ingredients used in Senegal or the Caribbean are not used in Mexico, showing the route it took.

The purpose of this event was not only to teach the audience about thieboudienne and guide them through the culinary world of Senegal but also to discuss the importance of foodways.

Moreover, something as simple as a country’s traditional dish can have a deep history. The discussion, demonstration, and tasting, West African Foodways: Talk and Taste, is more than a culinary exploration; it celebrates heritage and identity. It is an in-depth analysis of the roots and routes that foods take worldwide, specifically throughout the diaspora.

So, next time you’re enjoying a dish from a different country, stop and think about its roots and the routes the ingredients have taken to become the dish they are today.

Watch West African Foodways: Talk and Taste on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr_YXDcGxCc&t=84s

Scenes from the Land, Body, History event: West African Foodways