Ferrum College marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day with traveling exhibit on African-American history

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FERRUM — The Panthers Den at Ferrum College was transformed Monday into a museum documenting black history. Students quietly took in the more than 150 artifacts on display, snapping photos with their cellphones along the way.

Ferrum College marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day by bringing a traveling museum to campus. The exhibit, entitled “A Tribute to the African-American Journey,” includes artifacts spanning centuries — from a $921 bill of sale for a slave dated 1851 to a signed jersey of free-agent NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who made headlines when he kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.

True Black History Museum curator Fred Saffold said sharing the artifacts far and wide — Monday’s visit to Ferrum was the first stop on a 15-state tour — is a form of activism.

“We want to make sure that black history is never undervalued or marginalized,” he said.

Some of the letters, photographs, magazines, records and other items on display Monday came from Saffold’s own parents, who hailed from the segregated South. Others were donated or purchased at garage sales, estate sales or auctions.

Saffold said he’s always adding to the exhibit. The most recent addition was a copy of “The Souls of Black Folk” signed by author W.E.B. Du Bois.

“The museum is a living, breathing entity,” Saffold said.

The curator said of all the history explored in the exhibit, his favorite is the era of black power and civil rights, because it has “so many voices that are speaking out against racism,” like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Angela Davis.

Saffold said he was glad to bring the traveling museum to Ferrum College, which he noted is located in the county in which Booker T. Washington was born, so he could personally discuss the history with students.

MJ Germeroth, a freshman, said she feels it’s important to look back on the key moments and figures in history.

“Where you’re going is a reflection of where you come from,” she said.

The exhibit included some names that were familiar to Germeroth, like Rosa Parks, and others that were new, like Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman in Congress and also the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president from one of the two major political parties.

Sophomore Chaquon Lacks said he was impressed by the artifacts, particularly a bottle containing soil from “the motherland” of Soweto, South Africa.

“Being able to see a piece of South Africa, that was just crazy,” Lacks said.

Jennie West, a professor of social work, said although she lived through many of the moments documented in the exhibit, she still learned from it. West said she was unfamiliar with the African-American astronauts recognized.

West said she was glad the traveling museum came to Ferrum, which she described as a “different approach” to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

That’s exactly what administrators were going for. Lynise Anderson, dean of student affairs and campus wellness, said the college wanted “something more interactive” to mark the holiday honoring King’s legacy.

Anderson said she liked the idea of bringing pieces of history directly to students and faculty.

“When you can see the shackles, when you can see a bill of sale, when you can see a letter written by Frederick Douglass, it becomes real, it becomes tangible and not just things that you hear about or you read about,” she said.