Using Everyday Objects as Memorabilia
Another primary example of using artifacts to tell stories is the Jim Crow Museum located in Big Rapids, Michigan at Ferris State University. The Jim Crow era marks the period of time where there was a racial caste system in place in the United States. This lasted from 1877 to mid 1960's, indicating that it had a huge impact on the people that lived during that time. It included a variety of racist anti-African American and anti-colorer laws. Segregation was so prominent during that period that they were treated as if they were of a lower caste. In order to showcase this, the Jim Crow museum was created. It contains racist African American memorabilia and tells a story about the time period. Solely looking at a single object from the museum would not tell the story, however the fact that a compilation of objects has been created shows the story in a stronger light. As a whole, the museum is an art piece in itself, and contains objects that have been appropriated from their original usage during the Jim Crow era. The museum as an archive is then also used to tell a story about social justice and empowerment, to make people aware of the era that existed not so long ago in our history.
More information regarding the Jim Crow Museum can be found here.