On Day 6, we had the opportunity to go on a Black Heritage Walk with the lovely Marcia. She was very knowledgeable on the history of Birmingham. She had seemingly unlimited knowledge about how it was built up, important figures, statues, and lots of random yet interesting facts regarding the city. She took us into the art museum which was filled with many interesting artifacts and Birmingham’s history. She was telling us about different things that were recently added to the exhibits that were not there before in effort to better represent the history of the city.

An exhibit I found interesting was the Elephant in the Room exhibit which encapsulated things that museums seem like they don’t want you to know. The exhibit focused on why certain things were included, who produced them, where they were created, and a description of the artifact. In this exhibit, there were multiple different boxes that are used to transport the artifacts, showing the viewers how things get to the museum. There was a cool figure that was said to have a spirit inside so the museum gave it a larger case. It also had words written on the outside of the case to make the spirit feel as though it is part of the viewers and the audience. The lady who helped to curate this exhibit was explaining to us that this helps to keep the spirit peaceful and remind it that it is one of us.  There were also very cool mummified animals with a description about how mummies were a very hot commodity. I was surprised to learn that they would unwrap the mummies at parties as I found that a little bit insensitive but I think entertainment took a different meaning during this time.

Another main point during this tour was that history is hidden sometimes in ways that we do not always realize. This became apparent in the very beginning of the tour in which we saw a statue of Joseph Sturce who helped to provide safe havens for those who were enslaved. He was able to buy land in Jamaica to provide a place where people who were enslaved and oppressed could come to be safe and freely live their lives.  Marcia emphasized how the statue has not been cleaned in over 20 years unlike other statues in the city that are well preserved. This showed the lack of care for certain things in the city. This was also a theme when it came to the Barnaby grave in Pigeon Park. Marcia explained to us that it was a very quick war that the British lost, even though they had guns and their opponents, Sudan, had only shields and knives. However, this is not a very well known story in British history as many people do not know what actually happened. She explained that the British had to commemorate the general, but did not claim the loss. The tour was very insightful as it gave me insight into how history is taught, and the history of different ethnic groups in Birmingham had an impact on the city and its future.