On the third day of my Pastor’s Protest Fast I found myself staring at dozens of flattened out, deflated black football hides stitched together to make a haunting quilt that hangs on the white wall of the museum. Standing in the art gallery at Newfields in Indianapolis, I listened to the brilliant Kelli Morgan, Associate Curator of American Art (she’s the first Black woman in the country to fill this role) describe how Indiana has its own unique history of white supremacy and racism given the historic role of the KKK in Indiana and the lynchings.
The exhibit features the work of Samuel Levi Jones “Left of Center.” His art addresses how injustice pervades systems of education, criminal justice, healthcare, and the American historical narrative, the stories we tell our children about American history.
As I think about hunger and food insecurity in America through this historic lens, I wonder about how segregated neighborhoods and food deserts are part of this historic narrative of racism and oppression.
Kelli said that our highway 65 in Indianapolis runs strategically through the poorest neighborhoods, often disrupting Black communities. It makes me wonder: How might White supremacy create food insecurity? How might classism create food insecurity and what about the double whammy of both in America?
If we are serious about ending hunger and food insecurity in America, then our strategies must include dismantling White supremacy and classism.
To learn more connect with the 1619 Project curriculum http://pulitzercenter.org/lesson-plan-grouping/1619-project-curriculum and Bread for the World: https://bread.org/
Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund 