At this week's Round Table, Jack & Maya spoke with Daniel Jones, cultural curator at The Cameron Art Museum (CAM), whose work lies in the intersection of art, history, and education. As a curator, Jones collects oral histories and uses artistic expression to continue to push these stories to the forefront of our communities. The CAM is located in Wilmington, North Carolina–one of the last major campaigns of the Civil War and a major port town.
As a place that has always been associated with the “lost cause” of the Civil War, the exhibit he’s curated at The CAM aims at telling a different story about the town and its inhabitants. Changing the narrative of Wilmington, while also instilling a sense of pride in the community that’s been here since the beginning, is extremely important to the mission of the museum. At The CAM, there’s more room to go in depth and talk about history that has often been concealed, bringing it to a variety of different age cohorts. The CAM is committed to fostering insightful conversations surrounding artifacts and history for museum-goers at young ages and ALL ages in order to understand human communities, prepare for real world obstacles, and interact with people who may not be like you.
As we know, there has been a crack down on what can and can’t be taught in many classrooms in the South, leading to a true challenge in making sure full stories get told and shared. Amidst these constraints, we should ask ourselves,“What can we do to ensure that the history of marginalized communities don’t remain buried?” and “What will future generations of America look like if there are similar curriculum crackdowns in the North?” We need to empower all people to share their stories because that is a vital part of who we are. Museums like The CAM can play a valuable role in this. As Daniel Jones said, “We will never get the true human experience until you pull from whoever that story is affecting.” Thank you for listening!
