For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: January 12, 2023
Photo exhibit to highlight Diversity Week activities
Fennimore -
An exhibit chronicling African-American life in rural Nebraska from 1910-1925 will be on display at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College starting Jan. 15. The “Black and White in Black and White: Images of Dignity, Hope and Diversity in America” display will highlight the “New Negro Movement” through a collection of black and white photographs taken by African-American photographer John Johnson.
Johnson used his neighborhood in Lincoln, Nebraska as his canvas. According to the project description, he “crafted powerful portraits of his black friends and neighbors. Equally as important as Johnson’s ennobling images of African-Americans are his images of mixed racial groups, which depict a vibrant and integrated community. His subjects may have lived modestly, but Johnson’s lens portrayed a nobility and optimism far beyond their circumstances.”
The exhibit will be part of the college’s Diversity Week activities Jan. 30 – Feb. 3. “This is our history and it’s told from another perspective,” said Chantel Hampton, diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator/social science instructor at Southwest Tech. “As people growing up in southwest Wisconsin our American history classes were told from the white perspective, for the most part, and we don’t always take the time to look at our history from another lens. This gives us an opportunity to see people from a different perspective. It’s still our story.”
The photo exhibit will be displayed in the cafeteria and in the hallway leading to the Knox Learning Center. “We can relate,” said Hampton. “They lived very similar lives. They had similar agriculture backgrounds, manufacturing backgrounds, and lived experiences.”
The Southwest Tech Diversity Work Group, Student Life and Student Senate is helping bring this exhibit to campus. The exhibit and all events are open to the public.
- Additional Diversity Week activities:
- Monday, Jan. 30 – Film Festival – Charley’s Student Center
8:30 a.m. – “Emancipation” 8:30 a.m.; 11:30 a.m. – “42 (The Jackie Robinson Story)”; 2:30 p.m. – “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.”
- Wednesday, Feb. 1 – 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – guest speaker – Ebone Bell – auditorium.
“Black History is American History.” By using the art of storytelling and relatability, Bell creates a unique way of exploring Black historical figures, experiences, and important events that have shaped the past and present.
The photo exhibit will be displayed on campus through March 12. It will include the photographs, as well as artifacts. In addition, an online exhibit will be available. It includes photos, videos, music and interactive activities. It can be accessed at www.exhibits.exhibitenvoy.org/swtc.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, a finalist for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |