Joe Minter's African Village in America

Items

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  Birmingham Jail

  The central piece of this assemblage comes in the form of a large cage structure with a pair of heavy metal doors attached to the front; the left door closed, and the right door open. Atop the cage doors is an attached wooden structure built in the shape of three crosses, with one wooden cross over the left corner, one over the right corner, and one in the center, built on top of the horizontal wooden board bridging the corner crosses. The wooden crosses are are draped with barbed wire, which is also stretched across the top of the cage in an interlacing pattern. Beneath the center wooden cross is a heavily oxidized metal sign. It is clear that this sign has been written on with yellow paint, however it has become largely unreadable due to weathering. Words and phrases like "GOD IS THE WAY," "BILLY CLUBS," "1963," and "WE PUT OUR LIFE" are visible. Diagonally attached on top of this weathered metal sign is another sign made of a white piece of wood, which has "MLK LETTER FORM / BIRMINGHAM JAIL / 1963" written on it in black paint. Beneath these two signs, the top horizontal bar of the cage reads "BIRMINGHAM FORGOTTEN FOOT SOLDIER WE SHALL OVERCOME" in yellow fading paint. The metal doors of the cage are also written on using yellow paint. The closed left door reads as follows: " GOD LOVE YOU / POLICE COMMISSIONER EUGENE / BULL CONNOR ORDERED HIS POL- / ICE OFFICERS TO USE FORCE ON / NON-VIOLENCE AFRICAN SCHOOL / CHILDREN CLERGY AND COMMUNITY / 12 AFRICAN CHURCHES HAD MASS / MEETINGS WEEKLY MAY 6 1963 MORE / THAN 8,000 AFRICAN PEOPLE ASSEM- / BLE 16TH ST BAPTIST CHURCH FOR MASS / DEMONSTRATIONS AFRICAN CHILDREN / FROM ELEMENTARY HIGH SCHOOL AND / COLLEGE IN KELLY-INGRAM PARK / TO PUT OUR LIFE ON THE LINE FOR / FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS WITH / GOD ON OUR SIDE / TO LEAD US ALL THE WAY / REV FRED SHUTTLESWORTH / REV DR MARTIN LUTHER KING / REV RALPH ABERNATHY / REV GARDNER / REV N.H. SMITH (FIRE BALL) / REV PHIEFER / REV COOPER / REV CALVIN WOOD-A WOOD / REV JESSEE DOUGLAS / REV ALFORD / REV ERSKINE FAULSH / DR CARLTON REESE / COLONEL JOHNSON (BUCK) / LILLY BROWN." The open right door reads as follows: "AN'T GONE LET NOBODY / TURN ME AROUND / JAMES BEVEL J ARMSTRONG / JAMES ORANGE G PRICE / LUCINDER ROBEY / TOMMY WRENN / JUDGE U.W. CLEMONS / QUINTIN MITHELL / PATTON / ATTY ARTHUR SHORES / ATTY OSCAR ADAMS / ATTY BAKER / TEATHER VERA BROWN / MEATBALL AND SUNSHINE / POOLE FUNERAL AGGASTON MOTEL / AFRICAN HIGH SCHOOLS 1963 / ULLMAN GEORGE C BELL / PARKER ROBERT C JOHNSON / CARVER GOODSON / WESTERN JACKSON / HOOPER CITY HAYES / ROSEDALE J.S. ABRAMS / AFRICAN COLLEGE 1963 / PAUL DULLEY WHITE (TALL PAUL) / SHELLY STEWART (PLAYBOY) / REV ERSKINE FAULSH / JOHNNY MCCLURE (JOHNNY JIVE) / WILLIE MCKINSTRY / JESSEE CHAMPION / JAMES LAY / WILLIE KELLEY JONES / ODIS BARNES / DAVID LEE JONES / GEORGE EUGENE / TIMOTHY." The right door is propped open with a working boot. Beside the open metal door on the right, a figure is constructed using metal rods, with one tall rod in the center and two smaller rods supporting it by leaning against the center rod diagonally. A metal plate is attached to the top of the rod, wearing a yellow hard hat helmet with the letters "BPD" in black paint written on it. The metal figure is adorned with working gloves, a mask of Marvel's "The Hulk," and a toy gun. A rope is tied to the end of the figure, which is tied on the other end to a stone dog guarding the cage's doors. Wrapped around the figure twice is a portion of a long fireman's hose, with faded painted words like "1963 BIRMINGHAM, AL POLICE" and "JESUS." The hose extends some distance to a wooden structure constructed of three tall wooden poles leaned against one another, with messages such as "COME TO JESUS" and "OVERCOME" written with white paint on a pole painted red, green, and yellow. A wooden triangle is nailed to the top of the structure with a small statue of an eagle positioned on it. The leftmost of the three wooden poles is taller than the other two, and has a wooden triangle nailed to it as well, pointing upward. Beneath this wooden structure is a collection of children's toys, including a bicycle and characters from the children's show Sesame Street as well as a round metal object painted with "PROVERBS 22 / 6 TRAIN UP A / CHILD IN THE / WAY HE SHOULD GO / AND WHEN HE IS / OLD HE WILL NOT / DEPART / FROM / IT." The rest of the yard space in front of the cage features a variety of items, including six dog statues in total, children's toys such as toy trucks and rocking horses, worker's hard hats, fire hydrants, and stones. A wooden bench also sits facing the cage, with four pairs of shoes lines up across the bench's seat. Inside of the cage is a black wooden figure, that has been painted with white stripes to appear to be dressed as a prisoner. The figure is wrapped in a steel chain with a lock on it, which encompasses the figures wrists, knees, and shoulders. An old white toilet is set to the left of the figure, with faded writing on the tank. A broken sink rests in the far right corner of the cage. Two separated metal bed headboards stand on either side of the cage. Along the cage's walls are masks of characters such as DC Comic's Batman, Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Darth Vader from Star Wars. A base of concrete bricks supports the structure of the cage. Around the cage's perimeter working gloves and boots are chained to the bar.
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  Bloody Sunday Memorial

  Large assemblage commemorating the violent beating on Selma's Edmund Pettus bridge during the voting rights march to the state's capital. Minter calls this a "day of infamy for our people to put their souls on the line and say 'I just want to be a human being and want the right to vote.'" Two long metal rods, arranged horizontally to the ground and parallel to each other, sit upon a series of vertical metal crutches and supported by additional poles, represent the bridge's infrastructure. A sign made of white plastic siding is partially in tact, partially deteriorated and fallen, and reads "RiGHt tO," "[]REE VOtE," and "SLAVE USA VOtE." Decaying wooden flats provide a walkable portion of the installation. Strategically placed are a number of plastic horses of different sizes and styles, cars, trucks, guns, baby dolls, and wooden bats, representing the "chaos and confusion" of the scene. A helmet on which is painted "ALABAMA / STATE / TROOPER" sits next to a painted plastic canister painted "TEAR GAS." The bridge culminates at an arch, replicated here by a tall white metal rectangular box frame, probably formerly a part of a home gym. Across the top of the frame is a wooden plank, painted yellow with: "BLOODY SUNDAY 3/7/65 GOD WiLL TAKE CARE OF YOU / 600 NON ViOLENT ATTACKED BY POSSE GAD GLUB BEATEN." Another plank sits above it at an angle reading "EDMUNd PETTUS." Down the left side is a wooden post reading "RIGHT TO B HUMAN" and down the right is "RIGHT TO VOTE." Gas masks are fastened to the left, to the right is an oxidized 'Heart of Dixie' license paint repainted over with yellow, and to the upper right is a toy white man representing George C. Wallace giving the signal to the Klan to attack.
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  Rosa Parks Bus

  Assemblage; found vehicle materials arranged to represent a bus. A front metal bumper with a white Alabama license plate accompanied by a blue unidentified license plate. Extending from the bumper is a driving wheel and positioned at the wheel are the skeletal remains of a larger vehicle seat. Inside the 'bus,' laying horizontally is a totem structure of large metal bowls, stacked rim to rim and base to base, giving the impression of a series of conjoined orbs. Nearby on the floor of the bus is a crutch, as well as two vertically arranged round metal hoops inside of which extend blue cord, like spokes on a wheel, that concentrate at the center. At the back of the bus, elevated, is the metal remains of a three person bus seat or couch, with seat springs exposed. Resting on the seat is a long vehicle window with four panes, on each pane can be discerned the faint outlines of painted words "PRAY FOR US [indiscernible]." Tethered to the front is a bundle of blue coat hangers and propped on the head of the seat is a long wooden board on which is painted: "ROSA PARKS ALABAMA / DEC. 1 1955 MONTGOMERY." Behind that seat is the metal suggestion of another seating structure, on which is propped another long painted board.