Spelman exhibition fuels artifact-driven conversation on reparations

African American history is fluid, according to a new art exhibition at Spelman College. In “Repossessions,” the past and future are intertwined.

Artifacts, paintings, drawings and mosaics are infused with elements outside their time periods, indicating that time within the African American experience is not linear.

Within the whirlwind of lost time, the exhibition calls for African American reparations and explores how descendants of the enslaved attempt to rectify their value in a country that has built wealth treating their ancestors as commodities.

“This is art bringing us innovative ways of how we could see a future with reparations in it,” said Spelman College School of Fine Art Director Liz Andrews. “In order to do that, you dig into science fiction; you dig into archives; you dig into (the) past, present and future.”

“Repossessions” grapples with the evolution of African Americans perceived as enslaved property through their emancipation. Inspired from authentic antebellum relics, the exhibition’s six works of art adapts those pieces to have multiple meanings.

“What is beautiful about the artists is they help us imagine differently,” Andrews explained. “It’s a show that is not meant to sugarcoat. It’s a show that is very deeply rooted in, literally, the physical objects, the evidence of this period in time — the foundation of this country.”

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Curator of Exhibitions Brandi Pettijohn said the conversation surrounding reparations is a necessity.

“In order to give forgiveness, somebody has to acknowledge harm. We have to do the steps in that,” she said.

In the piece titled “Surreal Plantation” by Chelle Barbour, an old photo that has been turned into an Afrofuturist collage. (Jason Getz/AJC)

The exhibition begins with “Surreal Plantation,” an old photo that has been fashioned into an Afrofuturist collage by artist Chelle Barbour.

Sharecroppers-turned-astronauts stand over a cotton field, and UFOs fly overhead. Former slave cabins stand far in the distance, as Black children pose with cotton bolls, books and rockets. Black women in ancestral jewelry stand proudly next to African baobab trees, symbolizing strength and resilience.

Spelman junior Joasia Jacobs said the montage spoke to her because it signifies that slavery was not long ago.

“We’re often told, ‘Get over it. It happened X amount of time ago.’ But to see that, we’re not that far removed,” she said.

Spelman College student Hannah Jackson views the piece “Strange and Bitter Crops” by Rodney Ewing. The work overlays words from Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish on a watercolor map of South Carolina. (Jason Getz/AJC)

In a piece titled “Strange and Bitter Crops,” artist Rodney Ewing overlays words from the poem “State of Siege” by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish on a watercolor map of South Carolina.

The map is labeled with markings to indicate property lines and crops sold at specific plantations, and includes eugenics-themed sketches of African American heads. It is the only artwork in the collection that physically includes an original artifact.

Hannah Jackson, a junior at Spelman College originally from Greenville, South Carolina, said “Strange and Bitter Crops” was especially unsettling for her.

“It just reminds us of the history of it all, even where I live, where I’m from,” she said.

Symbolic West African Sankofa birds are overlaid on a slave ledger illustrating the insurance value of each enslaved person on a property in the piece "Uhuru Now" by Curtis Patterson. Spelman College student Madison Harris views it at the "Repossessions" exhibition. (Jason Getz/AJC)

“Uhuru Now” by Curtis Patterson showcased the importance of knowing the past in order to live in the present and prepare for the future. Symbolic West African Sankofa birds were overlaid on a slave ledger that illustrated the insurance value of each enslaved person on a property.

Also included in the exhibition are reinterpretations of Confederate dollar bills. “THEY: Harriet’s Reprisal (The Expulsion) and (The Deluge)” by Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle features enlarged bills reimagined to show the contradictions of enslavement using patterns of fire and water.

One of two pieces titled “THEY: Harriet’s Reprisal [The Expulsion]" by Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle features reinterpretations of Confederate dollar bills. (Jason Getz/AJC)

The exhibition circles around a glass table, stocked with artifacts that inspired the artwork, including $2 and $5 bills from the Confederate States of America.

Spelman College School of Fine Art fellow Ming Washington said seeing the bills was upsetting.

“It is a jarring realization to think that, not only this period of American history required the circulation and creation of currency in exchange of human beings and lives, but also that with the Emancipation these objects still persist,” she said.

An original ledger with names of enslaved people, ranging in age from 8 to 40, sits on the other side along with their financial values.

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Executive Director Liz Andrews (left) speaks to Spelman students Madison Harris (center) and Hannah Jackson (right) about the exhibition “Repossessions” at the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation and the Arts on the Spelman College campus, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

“The numbers are really eerie because it really breaks down the science of dehumanizing someone — assigning a worth based on their age and what they can do for you. Then we wonder why there’s inequity in society today,“ Andrews said.

“That is the legacy of this country: The wealth that has been generated is built on the labor and brilliance of Black people in all sorts of ways. Yet, Black people have not, by and large systematically, been compensated or received any sort of reparations.”

Each of the artifacts were donated by white families after realizing their ancestors were enslavers.

“Repossessions” is the first show to premiere at the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts, a space designated for artistic expression and conversation.

“I hope that there’s something to learn and people come away just thinking about reparations and themselves in the project — no matter where they are,” Pettijohn said.