Library Research Notes #52
Art, History, Remembrance, and the Debunking of Conspiracy Theorists
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Today is the anniversary of my Nana’s birth. She would have been 100 years old and although I still miss her very much, I know that she is with me on my research journey. She was a lifelong knowledge seeker and we often discussed the things I was learning in school or at work, over a coffee at her kitchen table. She was also a night owl and musician, which are traits/talents I inherited. When I was a child, she often told me stories of growing up in Andalusia, Alabama and I did visit her mother (Mama Kate) once when I was very little (2 or 3 years old) but don’t remember much about it.
In June, we took a trip to visit Mobile, Alabama, the city she lived and worked in during WWII, in her single lady days, and on the way home made a stop in Andalusia to visit her (and my) ancestors. As far as I know, we have no living relatives in Andalusia, but my Nana’s parents and grandparents, as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins, are buried in the cemetery in town. The trip was wonderful, although muggy (but hello - Alabama in June? of COURSE it is hot and humid) and we were able to visit many historical sites, as well as relax on a couple of beaches.
While in Mobile, we had a chance to visit the Alabama Contemporary Art Center and take in the moving exhibits on display that month. I’ll discuss them more, below, but first, a moment of politics.
Conspiracy Theorists and Political Campaigns
This time, I was thinking about writing a full piece on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., since he has decided to throw his hat into the ring for the 2024 Presidential election. Please don’t let the Kennedy name lure you into nostalgic feelings of “Camelot”, RFK Jr. is a conspiracy theorist who pushes disinformation on COVID and often links to right-wing anti-semitic theories on a variety of topics. Needless to say, he isn’t someone we should want to have anywhere NEAR the white house.
He is backed by far right individuals, which gives me vibes from 2016 when the Bernie Bros (many of which were found to be bots and right wing infiltrators) threw a wrench into the election, contributing to Secretary Clinton’s loss of the electoral college, and therefore the chance to be President. This time around, we don’t want to let right wing lobbyists invade the Democratic party with their lust for power (which they have been attempting to implement in a legal fashion ever since Watergate), but rather we should stand strong with President Biden. RFK Jr. is a distraction. That is not to diminish the power of distractions. They have seemed to work pretty well over the past several decades. This is why we need to be ever vigilant in our vetting process of candidates.
To me, RFK Jr. is an example of someone on the left that has swung so far in that direction that they are now on the far right. Being skeptical is important, but when your skepticism leads you into a world of conspiracy theories that the far right has weaponized against ‘liberty and justice for all’, that is when you need to rethink. RFK Jr. is an environmental lawyer and was an influential voice on Air America (back in the day when liberal political voices were still relegated to a few spaces on air and this station allowed them to flourish - Rachel Maddow, Randy Rhodes, Janeane Garofalo, Sam Seder, etc.) but at some point he spiraled and, because he is a Kennedy, people tend to pay attention to him. That name still holds sway for democrats. We want the world that could have been if JFK and RFK were not shot down for their beliefs in social justice, but we aren’t going to get it with the son/nephew.
As I said - I was ‘thinking’ of writing a full piece on RFK Jr., but there are other writers and content creators who have done an excellent job of getting the word out about him, so rather than reiterating what they have to say, I’m just going to link to them here for your consideration…
Dr. Wilson is a PhD molecular biologist who does an EXCELLENT job of discussing the disinformation that is being spread by what the Center for Countering Digital Hate calls the “Disinformation Dozen”. RFK Jr. is one of the 12 ‘influencers’ on this list.
RFK Jr.’s Inside Job How a conspiracy-spewing literal Kennedy posing as a populist outsider jolted the Democratic Party by Rebecca Traister for nymag.com
Art and History
As mentioned at the top, while on vacation in Mobile we stopped by the Alabama Contemporary Art Center for a visit. The center is one of the many cultural touchstones in the city and offers quality contemporary works from various artists, as well as educational arts programs for K-12 students.
“Founded in 1999, Alabama Contemporary Art Center is a non-profit contemporary arts center on the outer edge of the deep Deep South, in the port city of Mobile, Alabama. For our community we provide a third space free of cultural or political bias, where individuals can find and create meaning. By holding space for difference, empathetic communication of ideas, and diverse cultural representation, we play an integral role in building a sense of cultural identity with our community that contributes to the quality of life in Mobile.” (alabamacontemporary.org)
There were three exhibits active during our visit and each had elements of beauty and pain conveyed through the work. We were extremely moved by the pieces in each exhibit and spent nearly 2 hours wandering the gallery. The impact of ACAC can be felt far beyond the 16 thousand square feet of space inside, spilling out into the community, and impacting artists and visitors from near and far.
Before we entered the building, we had been walking through Mardi Gras Park and came upon a plaque erected in 2021 by the Equal Justice Initiative & Mobile County Community Remembrance Project Coalition, that detailed the events of 23 January 1909. On this date, a mob of 30 white men abducted and lynched Richard Robertson at this site. The work on display in Soil at ACAC memorializes Robertson, as well as Zachariah Graham (1891), Richard Robinson and Will Thompson (1906), Mose Dorsett (1907), and James Lewis (1919).
“One of the goals of Soil is to confront Mobile’s history of violence, to own it, and to create a space for remembrance and a new imagining of who we can be as a community moving forward,” said ACAC Executive Director elizabet elliott. “Simply knowing history does not result in real change. Art has the ability to take a broken history and create a deeper perspective which allows us to traverse the trauma and acknowledge its full impact. The difficult act of fully reckoning with this history gives us the ability to create a new whole.” (alabamacontemporary.org)
In Make for High Ground, Jamie Robertson, a visual artist from Houston, Texas, created 3 films connecting the waters of the Gulf along Alabama, Texas, and Mississippi by showing the horrors and triumphs that water can bring. The three films left an indelible mark and I learned more history of the United States that had been previously hidden.
“Below the surface, surrounded by the living presence of Water’s memory, the camera serves as entry into the spiritual realm. Water is personified, its bones counted and picked clean from its past. What remains? Waters I contemplates the horror of the Storm of 1900 in Galveston, Texas, honoring the Black residents who survived and helped in the aftermath. Waters II acknowledges the history of the slave ship Clotilda and honors the memory of those Africans who survived the journey and slavery to form Africatown in Mobile, Alabama. Waters III reflects on the history of segregation in Biloxi, Mississippi; remembering the wade-in of April 24, 1960. This installation gives voice to Water, revealing what it knows about the human condition.”
– Jamie Robertson, 2023
If you are ever on the Gulf Coast of Alabama or the panhandle of Florida, it is worth a trip to Mobile to check out the ACAC, along with the many wonderful parks, museums, libraries, and coffeehouses the city has to offer. Being the birthplace of Mardi Gras, Dauphin Street in Mobile is certainly the place to be on Shrove Tuesday, and Gulf Shores is a lovely beach for relaxing with a good book!
Links to exhibits we attended at ACAC:
Drawing in Space | Make for High Ground | Soil - Radical Empathy in the Act of Remembrance
Thank you so much for reading along. I hope you enjoyed this installment of the Library Research Notes newsletter. As always, please be sure to let me know if there is a specific topic you would like me to cover, and comment!
So interesting to hear about your gran...