'Life through their eyes.' Student art captures Black culture in Massillon Museum exhibit

MASSILLON − Middle school student Raya Jones often takes fun selfies and photos of friends and family with her cellphone.

But through her participation in a Black History Month art exhibit, she's learned photographs can have a deeper meaning.

She is among 13 students in the Kent Area Chapter of The Links, Incorporated digital photo program, whose images are now on display at the Massillon Museum through March 17 in the exhibition, "The Art & History of the Black Family: Through the Eyes of the 21st Century African American Child."

"I feel like there's a difference between just taking a photo and taking a photo to preserve a memory," said Raya, a seventh grader at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Summit County.

Slavery "helped us push through hard times while not giving up hope when things seemed literally hopeless," the Ravenna resident said. Raya said it's a "reminder now that even though bad things happened to us, we are still able to show how it shaped us and how it is really important taking photos of memories."

Her exhibit photo shows a young girl jumping on a trampoline high into the air with her outstretched.

"Jumping for Joy" symbolizes Black joy, which is "culturally defined as anything that inspires and uplifts Black culture," the photo description says. "A form of resistance, Black joy is a symbol of happiness restored."

Stark, Summit and Portage students are exhibiting photos

Participating students from Stark, Summit and Portage counties have used photography to both learn about Black culture and history while educating others on the subjects.

Featuring 32 photos, "The Art & History of the Black Family: Through the Eyes of the 21st Century African American Child" is on exhibit in the Fred F. Silk Community Room Gallery on the lower level of the Massillon Museum, 121 Lincoln Way E in downtown Massillon.

Museum admission is free; hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Themes: Great Migration, Black family reunions, extended family

The Illuminate Digital Photography Project's theme focused on how Black culture is passed from one generation to another through storytelling while depicting Black family life in America.

Other themes represented in the exhibit are resilience and family cohesion.

Students learned about the Great Migration, which is the movement of roughly 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the urban Midwest, Northeast and Western cities between 1910 and 1970. Subjects also included Black family reunions, which date to emancipation, when formerly enslaved Blacks sought to reunite with separated family members. Another topic was extended families, also known as play cousins, aunties and uncles, who represent a form of bonding beyond family connections, the Kent Area chapter of The Links explained.

"If we don't teach them their history, then where are they going to get this information and this education?" said Kendra L. Preer, arts facet chair of the Kent Area Chapter of The Links, a nonprofit volunteer service organization committed to providing programs in underserved communities.

Storytelling in Black culture

Saeedah Haines, a fifth grader at Emmanuel Christian Academy in Akron, photographed a woman reading a story to two young children.

The image represents how storytelling "has always been an important aspect of African culture" while providing a "platform to shape the narrative of our own history," the photo description says.

"I took that photo in the library to capture emotion," Haines said. "And it represents a Black family ... because in the past during slavery, Black families could not read, write or learn."

Dejanay Scott, a fifth grader at Emmanuel Christian Academy, is exhibiting the photo, "Sticking Together," which shows family members with their backs turned while embracing each other as they stare off at a cityscape.

"Back in the day, Black families were separated and they couldn't even see each other when they were enslaved, (and parents) had children taken away from them," she said. "So we appreciate the moment of us being together."

'We can view life through their eyes.'

Students participated in a six-week virtual photography course, which also included arts experiences, master classes, workshops and field trips while learning photo techniques and principles.

"I enjoyed my time in the Links Digital Photography Project," said Naomi Seeden, an eighth grader in Canton City Schools. "The instructors taught us a lot and we learned to take meaningful photographs."

In July 2023, the local project won the first place Arts Programming Award for the Links Central Area. In 2022, it won the national first place Arts Programming Award for the Links, Incorporated, which has more than 200 chapters.

“While taking their photos, students experienced a world still recovering from a global pandemic,economic crisis, and (continued) instances of injustice — yet their lens is still optimistic and hopeful," Preer said. "The real gift of the exhibit is through one moment in time, we can view life through their eyes.”

"We tell students these photos you're taking now are almost like a time capsule because years from now, their grandchildren will look at these photos," she said. "So they're capturing the culture."

Bria Turner, an eighth grader at Emmanuel Christian Academy, said the photos "will give people a chance to see our perspective on things in our eyes as a young group of students.

"I feel like adults always believe they have more knowledge than us," she added. "While it's true, we still see things differently. Our generation has different thoughts about everything."

Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com.

On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP and Instagram at ed_balint

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Massillon Museum offers student photo exhibit on Black culture