"It is no secret that America has not lived up to its promise of upholding the idea that 'All men are created equal.'” That’s how Geoff Sciacca, an associate professor at Samford University, begins his description of the piece of art he created using pages "torn out of a Bible."
In an interview posted on Samford's Facebook page, while wearing a Black Lives Matter button, Geoff Sciacca describes the support he's received from the University for his project, The Dream Deferred.
In the full description of his piece titled "Fifteen-Twelve" Sciacca says:
It is no secret that America has not lived up to its promise of upholding the idea that “All men are created equal.” And from the earliest beginnings of slavery and indigenous genocides, to the tragedy of Jim Crow, to present-day systemic racial injustice and inequality, the evangelical church has been an integral part of all of America. And in this time, they have either been, at worst, complicit—with the country’s largest Protestant denomination having been founded through a split over their belief in slavery, for example. Or, at best, complacent— standing by as silent spectators, with the vast majority choosing to turn a blind eye to the evils of injustice happening all around them.
Fifteen-Twelve is a rebuke of this depressing legacy—from someone who grew up inside of white evangelicalism. The overwhelming collage of recognizable documentations of acts of violence against Black people at the hands of their white fellow men is pushed to the back, and their memories white-washed. In this covering, the church stands tall in spite of the silenced noise. Its iconic shape is made up of collaged Bible pages, each containing passages speaking of love, equality, and unity—messages that somehow get just as muted as the injustices, as Christians reinterpret the command of “Love your neighbor as yourself” by redefining how Christ himself defined “neighbor.” The irony of the phrase “Silence is Golden” is rephrased into “Silence is Violence” as the curtain is ripped back revealing what is actually going on.
Instead of waiting for legislation and only responding to laws after they change, the church should be on the frontlines, actively bringing about change and living out a message of love.
The exhibit was originally shown on campus August 24 – October 22, 2020, and was brought back for a second showing in April 2024.
The description on the projects page says, "When Langston Hughes questioned the potential consequences of white America withholding access to the American Dream from their fellow citizens of color, did he foresee the recent protests and riots as the pending explosion? Why does white America need an explosion to start listening to the cries that Black Lives Matter? The appalling murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day finally got the attention of many people who had managed to remain blind to longstanding systemic injustice and brutality, and became the tipping point for the part of the country that had long sagged under the heavy load of systemic racism. The Dream Deferred is a portfolio exchange and series of exhibitions that seeks to use printmaking as a means of adding to a conversation that is centuries old by being an artistic protest."
The Samford Crimson interviewed Sciacca, who said, “I genuinely believe that art can be a tool for social change; and while I don’t expect anybody to walk out of the gallery a different person, I hope that the things that they see and experience will plant a seed that grows into conversations, both internal and external.”
“The show has voices that represent Black, White, Latinx and Iranian perspectives and experiences. There’s hurt, anger, confusion, compassion and brokenness in the form of ink on paper, and I can only hope that the experience of engaging with this work will be impactful, in some way, for our viewers,” he told the student paper.
In April 2024, Samford posted about the unveiling of the second exhibit, saying, "It is Samford’s Christ-centered mission, that makes a collection like this so important to display. Our students will go out from here attempting to make the world a better place, regardless of their profession, and it is our job as educators to prepare them for this responsibility. That includes addressing matters of the heart as well as the mind,” said Denise Gregory, associate provost for student success and diversity."
The 2024 exhibit included two collections, “The Dream Deferred” and “The Dream (Is Still) Deferred.” The school explains, "The first collection arose out of the civic unrest following the death of George Floyd during the summer of 2020. The second collection developed out of an opportunity to more broadly showcase injustices across the world, and the need for global justice and equality."
Other features in the exhibit are described below:
Piece by Piece
Giclée
Bell jars are used to create and maintain an inescapable closed environment. White America has intentionally created an oppressive, closed system to oppress and monitor Black Americans. For Black Americans, freedom and privilege lie in plain sight, but just out of reach. This print highlights the rude awakening that many experienced as a result of the pandemic, and the recent protest movement in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others. Policing, and other racist power structures that oppress Black people, are being challenged in order to create a more just and empowering future for BIPOC. Piece by piece, people of color are working to dismantle the system that was built to uphold racial inequality.
Oligarchy
Woodcut
The United States of America is an oligarchy: a system of government in which a small group of economic elites dominate the political sphere and rule the country. While this is an obvious statement demonstrated daily in the news, there are few studies that have been done to provide substantiative evidence of this phenomenon. According to “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens” by Gilens and Page (2014), the wealth-holders of the United States (top 10%) have their interests directly represented by congress for at least 78% of legislation that passes annually. Citizens (the other 90%), by contrast, are truly represented by legislation less than 5% of the time. Statistically, the government doesn’t care about you. It never has. We The People are guardians of our own interests… and that’s exactly why they don’t want to hear from us. It’s time to be louder than ever before.
Running While Black
Linocut
As a female runner, I am well aware of the unwritten law of social order that mandates that I avoid night, vehicles, solitary spaces, trees, shrubs and dogs. Carrying a blade as a backup could land me in lockup.
What do I carry to protect myself against those who hunt and destroy black bodies at will, in broad daylight? Where’s my backup?
1819 News contacted Samford University for comment on this story but has not heard back from their representatives.
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