Ghosts of Atlanta by Rhana Gittens Wheeler

Author:Rhana Gittens Wheeler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction / African American / General
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Published: 2024-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Here an antagonist is not identified for the younger generation. Instead, the focus shifts to the tool of change—direct-action tactics. The phrasing specifically removes the actions of the white antagonist. For instance, using the phrase “culmination of the death of Emmett Till” is a passive construction that eliminates the white agents of Till’s murder, never discussing how he was murdered. Phrasing the events of Till’s fatality as a “death” rather than a “murder” constrains the audience from the incentive for justice or reparations for the act. By using “death,” the message of the exhibit entrance and exit signs are constructed to focus on the tools and methods of change rather than the actors. And that’s just the start of it.

Beyond the entrance and exit signs, viewing the exhibit in its entirety within the BeltLine space reveals that the message construction on the Eastside Trail differs from that on the Westside Trail. The images on the BeltLine are primarily ordered based on the book chapters. Still, there are distinct and troubling differences in the chapter order that perpetuates the rescuing of whites, particularly on the Eastside Trail. The Eastside Trail, beginning at Ponce City Market and ending at Reynoldstown, starts in chapter 1 of the book and ends in chapter 6. However, chapter 5 is omitted from this consecutive ordering of the chapters. The Westside Trail, beginning at the West End Kroger and ending at Washington Park, starts in chapter 4 and ends in chapter 10. Here, chapter 6 is omitted and moved to the Eastside Trail, shifting the consecutive order. Chapter 7 is omitted from the exhibit entirely. If the chapters had been perfectly aligned, they may have been constructed with chapters 1–4 on the Eastside Trail and chapters 4–10 on the Westside Trail. Chapter 4 is overlapped on both sides of the trail in the curation. However, the misplacement of chapter 6 and the complete omission of chapter 7 are significant because the deliberate choices reconstruct the retail book’s story and eliminate direct criticism of whites, particularly on the Eastside Trail.

Table 3.1. Images of America exhibit layout by book chapters of Atlanta and the Civil Rights Movement

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