Items
Subject is exactly
Slavery
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Africa Door of No Return
White door with louvers, doorknob removed. Painted red lettering covers most of the surface, reading horizontally from top to bottom on the horizontal rails: "AFRICA / DOOR - OF / NO - RETURN." On the louvers, reading: "50 / [sad face] / YRS WHY." On the vertical rails, left to right flanking top louvered panel: "SLAVERY / LOST - FREEDOM." On vertical rails, left to right flanking bottom louvered panel: "AGONY - MISERY / DEATH." Title recalls the Door of No Return, the physical and mythical doors at slave fortresses along the coast of West Africa. Both literal and commemorative, there are Doors of No Return in Gorée, Senegal, and Elmina, Ghana, as well as memorials in Benin and Nigeria. The other side of the door has painted wooden planks meant to look like prison bars that are dark grey. Written on them are letters in yellow and black paint that read "R-E-P-A-RA-TIONS / CONVICT-LEASE / SYSTEM-200-YRS / JIM / CROW / 200 / WH-Y-U.-S.-A. / S-L-A-V-ERY". -
American Hut
Seven wooden poles are erected vertically in a circle, with pieces of scrap metal assembled on top in a dome shape to create a roof. On top of the roof is yellow, dome-like metal object, covered in painted black dots. Steel chains are stretched across and wrapped around the wooden poles supporting the structure, alongside ropes that are also wrapped tightly around the poles. A thick rope knotted at the end hangs loosely inside of the structure from its center, alongside a torn piece of cloth that resembles a partial American flag, but with significantly less than fifty stars. "Liberty 1986" is stitched to the bottom of the flag alongside other words. A pair of worker's gloves are attached to two chains hanging loosely at the "front" side of the structure. A metal rod sticks out from the wooden pole on the right of the front of the hut, with chains attaching it to "Slave Ship America." At times the hut is enclosed by wooden and metal walls, most notably a wooden panel painted "GOOD FRIENDS MEET" with an image of a pig, standing and wearing cover-alls.