HOLDING CHURCH

The most touching exhibit of all at Crystal Bridges demanded a dedicated post. I’m closing Juneteenth with “This is the Day.”

In their words, “This Is the Day brings together 24 artistic representations… that illuminate the resilience of the Black church and the community it has served for more than 300 years. From depictions of joy to quiet moments of prayer to images of departure through funerals and terrorism, this exhibition displays the church’s significant role in Black history and culture that still endures today.”

In mine, this exhibit immediately stopped my heart. It opens with Faith Ringgold’s “Church Picnic Story Quilt.” You can dig up the full 12-panel story, but I knew I’d find real truth here (and it was meant for me to find) when I saw Ella Mae and Roscoe as characters. Ella Mae is the name of my grandmother, and her son and grandson are Roscoe. I don’t believe in coincidences that great.

This is the Day includes Azikiwe Mohhamed’s “The First African Baptist Church,” founded in 1777 and once a sanctuary for escaped enslaved people. He captures the breathing holes in the wooden floor carved for those who’d hide underneath the church.

Mohhamed also photographed the Ebenezer Baptist Church in “101 Jackson St NE, Atlanta.” The placard next to it reads, “…Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s burial site was within a few feet of the church in which King was baptized, ordained, and eulogized after his murder in 1968. ‘He can never leave that building. Not even in his death.'”

Half of Bruce Davidson’s “Untitled” shows three little girls dressed for church. (The other half, a photograph of three elder church ladies, hangs next to it.) Those drop-waist skirts, opaque white tights, and shiny patent oxford shoes had a place in my closet too.

“I feel seen” is so cliché and overused, but truly, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is telling real American stories, and that means us too. The Black church did and still practices “Watch Night” services where our ancestors gathered to wait for news of their freedom. It is an undeniable pillar of the American story and one that deserves to be recognized in important places. Happy #Juneteenth, everyone.