By Lynn Hatter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-884526.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – On the top floor of the Brogan Museum in downtown Tallahassee is an exhibit. It contains historical documents, paintings, books and other things that identity with the history of African Americans in Florida.
At times, the exhibit is painful and at other times, humorous. It is a physical reminder of the African American experience from the 1600's all the way through to today. The exhibit is called the Kinsey Collection. It's on loan from two Florida A & M University graduates, Bernard and Shirley Kinsey.
The Brogan's director, Chucha Barber, is the tour guide. The exhibit starts against a backdrop of blood-red walls. Hanging on those walls are two images in black and white. They are nearly life-size, a technique designed to draw the viewer in. They show two stone walls with a locked, iron-barred door, and through the bars is the sea. Barber says it's called the Door of No Return.
"It would have been the last area of their homeland that Africans would have seen before they stepped out through the gate and then traversed through this opening, where there was likely to be a plank that led to a small boat, which led to a larger boat which would be anchored, where they would begin their journey of enslavement to the new world."
Despite that journey, the brilliance of the African Americans still found a way to shine through. One such example is Phyllis Wheatley, the poet named after the ship that brought her to America, and the family who bought her. Here is an excerpt from one of Wheatley's books published in 1773:
"To flow the laboring buffoons deep intent. And thought in living characters to paint. When firth they penciled for beauty's give; and breathing figures learn't from thee to live."
As the exhibit progresses so do the colors on the wall. What was the darkest of reds has now become much lighter. This time, when another display comes up, the color is brighter and bolder. It's a vivid red, and we are now in 1800's Florida. There comes another picture, larger than the first. This one is a black and white photo of a black man in a three piece suit. He's seated in a chair. His name is Josiah Walls, and he was the first African American elected to Congress from Florida.
"He began his term in office in 1871. At the conclusion of his second term in 1876, there wouldn't be another African American legislator in the state of Florida until 1993 when Alcee Hastings was elected," says Barber.
That 117-year gap is a reminder of how slowly change can come. But the walls of the exhibit are changing more quickly. As we move on, the colors go from a subdued red to an earthy golden rod. Tucked away in a corner is a case full of letters from one of the state's most notable black, female authors, Zora Neal Hurston. Barber reads aloud an excerpt from one of them written in bolded type:
"Here is your ring. By putting it into your hands I hope this makes it unnecessary for you to come see me for any reason whatsoever. In fact, it is my earnest prayer that I never see you again unless you are dead. If you will only be decent enough to die, I will by me a red dress, send myself some flowers of congratulations, and come to your funeral."
Ouch. Hurston hailed from Eatonville, Florida, the nation's first incorporated black town. She was a pivotal Harlem Renaissance writer. Her most famous novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," is required reading at many public schools across the country.
As the exhibit winds to a close, we are standing by yet another wall and a completely different color yellow. It's a warm, honey yellow, a color that Barber says symbolizes hope and the journey of African Americans from slavery to freedom and beyond.
The Kinsey Collection will soon head to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. What started as a private collection of two Florida A&M University graduates will end up as a testament to the African American experience for the nation to explore. The last day to view the exhibit in Tallahassee is March 23rd.