Mirror of Race

Last week, cultural historian and professor Maurice Berger published another remarkable article in his essay series "Race Stories" on Lens, the photojournalism blog of the New York Times. This time, he discussed his experience with an incredible, interactive website called "Mirror of Race," which provides actual photographs of people with different races from the 1800s. While museums usually provide context and expert analysis to complement displayed photographs or artifacts, the founders of the website intentionally withheld that seemingly crucial information from its viewers for the purpose of executing a social experiment: to force viewers to confront the photographs, which depict ambiguous situations without any descriptions, with only their personal interpretations and assumptions. 

Given that the interactive website is dedicated to the abolitionist movement and past racial violence, it's no surprise that the founders of "Mirror of Race" had the intention of badgering Americans into contemplating today's racial anxieties and stereotypes, which are prevalent yet not discussed as often as they should be. While other methods of accomplishing the purpose of the website do exist, Mr. Fried, one of the founders, stipulated the best aspect of using de-contextualized photographs: they have the intriguing ability of allowing people to think about their message intimately yet simultaneously from a safe distance. At least for now, this seems to solve the widely held generalization that public discussions about racial stereotypes and identity are inevitably uncomfortable and should only be ostensibly acknowledged as "culturally important" rather than be pursued actively. When people view the photographs on the "Mirror of Race" website, they should theoretically sense a connection between the present and the past and ask about their own perceptions of race. Berger goes beyond and hopes that the website’s viewers come to realize that white supremacists and other extremely prejudiced groups should not simply be treated as the scapegoat of the currently inescapable problem that racism is; rather, it’s a thorn in everyone’s sides.

Ox cart. Outdoor scene. Circa 1875

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For me, I believe that analyzing photographs is a very interesting way of addressing racial stereotypes and other misinformed perceptions of race. And while these issues are not necessarily deadly, they are very difficult to change. As a result, when I first viewed the photographs on the website, I thought that the lack of descriptions was counter-productive; the founders could have clearly stated their goal of making people realize that racism is a problem that should be the subject of more public discourse. Yet, I realized that the curatorial interpretations often distract people from self-analyzing their understanding and assumptions of what race is. Paradoxically, the fact that the viewers are on their own while viewing the decontextualized images forces them to face up to the obvious yet unstated purpose: the photographs are fundamentally about race and make a clear statement about the forms that race discussions have taken today.