|Copyright Michigan Chronicle Jan 10-Jan 16,
This past April, Ferns State University hosted the premiere of
"Them: Images of Separation," a traveling exhibition of items from
popular culture used to stereotype various groups of people.
"Them" builds upon the success of an earlier exhibition entitled,
"Hateful Things." Both shows are comprised of artifacts from Ferris'
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. The museum is the outgrowth
of a collection of items by university professor of sociology David
Pilgrim, who is also museum curator.
The museum's mission is to provide leadership in the anti-racism
movement The museum serves as a base for quality scholarships
addressing the complexities of race relations.
According to Pilgrim, "Them" responds to questions he received
from people who saw the previous exhibition, which focused
specifically on imagery demeaning to African Americans.
The negative imagery promoted stereotyping against such groups as
Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Jews and poor Whites, as well as those
who are categorized as "other" in terms of body type or sexual
"In the past we had people ask why did we have objects that dealt
with groups other than African Americans," Pilgrim said. "For this
show, we took our direction from Martin Luther King's famous quote,
'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' This is the
next logical step for the Jim Crow Museum."
Through more than 30 separate framed pieces, "Them" tackles some
of the most contentious cultural hot-button issues: anti-Arab
sentiment, Holocaust denial, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and
immigration. The exhibition also includes items demeaning to African
"I'm hoping 'Them' shows discrimination and stereotyping is not a
Black/White issue - it's more pervasive than that," Pilgrim
The museum has become an important resource for international
news media. The New York Times, BBC, Los Angeles Times and many
other outlets have turned to Pilgrim and the museum for commentary
on a range of breaking stories.
In addition to organizing traveling exhibitions, the Jim Crow
Museum is planning to expand beyond the museum's single room in the
Arts and Sciences building on campus.
To view the collection online, read and take a virtual tour,
visit www.ferris.edu/jimcrow. John Thorp, social sciences division
head, schedules all tours. He can be contacted at (231) 591-5873 or