Dispossession
To deprive someone of land, property, possessions, or humanity
Depiction of Africans being transported to the Americas via the transatlantic slave trade
Enslavement
You are now acutely aware that life as you knew it is no more. You have been stripped of your familial ties, the land that the soles of your feet still remember, the smell of the air near the place where you were born, the sound of your language as it fell from your mother’s lips. You were able to hold on to the soulful rhythm that resides in your bones, the knowledge of the one who created you and the memories of all that have been stolen.
Begin, Again
You give yourself permission to feel an increasing sense of security, pride, and self-reliance. You intentionally build community with the people who deeply understand your humiliation and your triumphs. You allow your worship and your joy to be fully animated and deliberately public.
Laying and Wait
George Williams
7 X 8 ft
Credit: George Williams
Awakening
You realize that you have never had the ability to protect anyone, to prevent any horror, to consistently direct any area of your existence or experience without the shadow and weight of oppression. You are overcome with the realization that you have never really owned or possessed anything, not even the breath in your own body.
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A Framed Black Body
George Williams
7 X 8 ft
Credit: George Williams
Rest
You are reminded where your breath comes from and your soul is assured. Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ – Philippians 1:6 (KJV). And with that reminder, you are able to surrender and rest.
Stories of Displacement and Dispossession was curated by:
Amiee Leavy (Beloit Community Member)
Wanda Sloan (Community Activist)