Truth

Last week I attended An Evening in the Reece Museum with an Emmett Till Painting. The lecture included Dr. Lisa Whittington and Patricia Kabore. Dr. Whittington is the artist who painted the Emmett Till painting, and she discussed how that the story of Emmett Till inspired her to speak for him and other African Americans who have suffered injustices.  Dr. Whittington also discussed her painting of Mamie Till. It was amazing to me, the courage of Mamie Till. Her decision to open the casket of her son made a huge statement about the brutality that African Americans experienced.

Patricia Kabore’s story was what stuck with me most. She was the same age as Emmett Till and was in Chicago visiting her grandfather at the time he was missing. Her grandfather lived across the street from the Till family. She discussed how that the whole block was completely silent after the block learned that Emmett had been taken.  She also reflected on watching Emmett’s family throughout this time, seeing his grandmother get out of a car crying after learning her grandson’s fate. The fact that Kabore watched this take place was amazing to me.  She explained that this is when she realized that she was different and that she wasn’t necessarily safe in America. After learning about Till’s death in US history junior year, I kind of forgot about him and his story. Kabore’s account made his death feel so present that it could have happened yesterday.

Together the two women discussed the importance of art in telling the truth and explaining history. This made me thing about art in a new way. Before, I had made the connection between art and history, but I had never thought of art as being the truth.