I’ve had several racial situations to deal with.
I have to say we the majority of Black people are not trying to be accepted by white people.
I’m very protective of my People.
No offense intended, but your thesis has been written over and over again by Black and white authors.
If all you’re looking for are negatives to write about the Blacks, you might not get much help on this board. More focused on progress, not looking backwards.
As James asked, who is your target audience.
@ this:
People like to believe there has been some great progression for acceptance, acknowledgement, representation, and so many of other things in regards to Black people - when there hasn't been. I personally feel it every single day.
We not looking for anything from white people. I know there has been progress. You should have seen how things were before we made the progress we have now.
In high school, back in the day, we were assigned to read books like Native Son, and Black Boy by Richard Wright. Many great writers going deep into the heart of the Black Community you describe.
You’re not going to get what you’re looking for on Destee. You have to do the work. Read some Richard Wright, Maya Angelo, Langston Hughes.
You have to do the work yourself.
Richard Wright will take you to what you’re looking for.
Have you read Native Son?
These new generations are trying to Move forward before they know where they come from. The only way to know for yourself is thru reading.
Good luck with your thesis and furniture, seriously. Just know the topic you’ve chosen has been written several times already.
What does furniture have to do with Black People and your thesis.
Always be moving forward.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure how asking to hear about personal stories, in a present context is looking for "negatives to write about about blacks" - in fact I haven't gotten a single negative response. I don't even think our history is negative. It's about triumph over tribulation on our end.
So the correlation between black people, furniture and my thesis:
Because I’m a design student, my thesis is not presented in a typical fashion. So rather than having a 50 page dissertation, I present designed and finished objects (although I do also have a separate written part). The objects I happen to be designing and making are furniture – to sort of frame the context.
The furniture is built upon the basis of urban decay in correlation to Black communities. So I guess the best way to paint a picture is to think of it as a visual metaphor. Or even like an art installation except I’m making functional furniture pieces.
Part of this is that issues that plague the black community and their origins are never discussed in the design world. Things like gentrification, housing discrimination, inner-city poverty, wealth disparities, etc. Black people are the strongest, most resilient of people - and this is seen practically nowhere in product design specifically.
I’m focusing on particular areas where decay, destruction, and transformation have occurred and is visibly present. So thinking about places like Seneca village, weeksville, sandy ground, five points, harlem, etc. And the things that defined those areas was the community, Black communities that have and are literally being destroyed. Like the city using eminent domain to build parts of central park which desiccated Seneca village. The materials I’m using (demolition and construction materials taken from demolished and abandoned lots) speak both to the destruction of these communities and the history of perseverance to strive, overcome and come together in face of that destruction. By presenting those materials in an abstract unified context of street furniture I’m seeking to elevate the perception and representation of a community through the pieces of furniture I make. It’s very much a symbolic a representational thing that is also very much rooted in the present. I can’t design for the past, hence the desire for outreach. Which I’ve been doing within the areas I live, but not so much within places outside of where I live, and I think its important because everyone's experience is different. Which was the intent of this - hearing those different experiences. Reading is great research material obviously, but not so much in regards to user feedback.
I’m not focusing on trying make Black people be accepted by white people or anyone really, I’m just trying to share a bit of our history. I have the opportunity to present
I don’t know if that made it more clear or just turned everything into a convoluted mess.
As I was writing all of this I thought of something that speaks to what I'm attempting to do.
Have you heard you of the African Burial ground national monument?
"For a century, from the 1690s to the 1790s, a small plot of land in Lower Manhattan became the final resting place for over 15,000 free and enslaved Africans. The burial ground was then lost under years of urban development and landfill, until workers rediscovered the burial ground in 1991 during an excavation of the land for a Federal Government office building. Excavations at the site revealed the remains of 419 Africans and over 500 individual artifacts. Considered one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century, the African Burial Ground is of national significance because of what it can tell us about the lives of Africans and African Americans in an urban context. Both the deceased and their possessions help piece together a more complete history of New York City in the 17th and 18th centuries and what life was like for Africans in the city." - taken from its description.
What I'm making isn't a monument per say - but it's symbolic in the same way.
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