More than a century after W.E.B. Du Bois presented groundbreaking data visualizations and portraits of Black Americans at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair, AJC reporters Mirtha Donastorg and photojournalist Natrice Miller re-created Du Bois’ powerful charts and portraits using modern data from Atlanta and Georgia. Inspired by Du Bois’ mission to challenge racist myths and humanize Black life, their work is now on display at the museum at Clark Atlanta University.
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🎥: AJC
📸: Natrice Miller / AJC | University of Massachusetts Amherst | H. C. White Co-Archive Photos / Getty Images | Thomas Askew / Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
As the president of one of the nation’s most prominent Black colleges, George T. French Jr. is rarely at a loss for words.
But last Friday, in the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, he stood silently before a framed portrait. His likeness had been placed beside that of W.E.B. Du Bois, the renowned scholar who once walked the campus when it was known as Atlanta University.
The two faces, separated by more than a century, rested side by side on an easel in Trevor Arnett Hall.
“This moment was more than personal admiration,” French said later. “It was a profound tribute to the lasting influence of Du Bois’ work and philosophy on our pursuit of excellence and parity at Clark Atlanta University.”
The new exhibit at CAU, French said, carries that argument forward and extends Du Bois’ belief that Black existence belongs in full view.
Read more about the exhibit and how to view it at the link in our bio.
🖋️ : Ernie Suggs
📸 : Jason Getz / AJC
The epic opening at the CAU Art Museum of “W.E.B. Du Bois Revisited: Re-imagining Du Bois’ work from ‘The Exhibit of American Negroes,’” an exhibition inspired by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s re-creation of Du Bois’ 1900 Paris display, was an emotional and historical triumpt.
The event coincided with the 100th anniversary of Black History Month and served as the culmination of the university’s observance, and the recognition of the AJC’s Black History Month Series.
“I was truly overwhelmed with emotion and deep reverence as the vision of reimagining W.E.B. Du Bois’ legacy through my own journey was unveiled,” said CAU President George French, at the unveiling of his portrait alongside that of Du Bois'. “This moment was more than personal admiration. It was a profound tribute to the lasting influence of Du Bois’ work and philosophy on our pursuit of excellence and parity at Clark Atlanta University.”
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“W.E.B. Du Bois Revisited: Re-imagining Du Bois’ work from ‘The Exhibit of American Negroes’ from the 1900 Paris Exposition.”
At the turn of the 20th century, W.E.B. Du Bois boarded a ship to Paris aiming to prove that Black Americans, newly freed and fiercely determined, could be measured not by caricature but by data, dignity, beauty and achievement.
The “Exhibit of American Negroes” at the 1900 Paris Exposition was a pioneering work of hundreds of photographs, dozens of infographics and more, all aimed at presenting on the world stage the achievements of African Americans.
Du Bois’ goal was to push back on the dominant racist narratives of the time by showing what Black Americans had been able to achieve in less than 40 years after the end of slavery. Then a professor at Atlanta University, Du Bois worked with his students and an Atlanta photographer to create the striking data visualizations and curate the photographs for the exhibit.
“We have thus, it may be seen, an honest, straightforward exhibit of a small nation of people, picturing their life and development without apology or gloss, and above all made by themselves. In a way this marks an era in the history of the Negroes of America,” Du Bois wrote.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mirtha Donastorg and Natrice Miller, under the direction of senior writer Ernie Suggs, have re-created a handful of the visualizations with contemporary economic and demographic data, and the photographs with modern looks at the lives of Black Georgians.
Reporter Mirtha Donastorg dreamt up the project and worked with data journalist Stephanie Lamm and illustrator Marcie LaCerte to do the data analysis and create the visualizations. @ajcnews@itsuatl@cau@natrice.miller #blackhistorymonth
