The Say Their Names Memorial is a grassroots, national movement that honors the numerous Black people who lost their lives as a result of racial injustice. The Seneca Village section of Central Park will host the exhibition’s launch on September 17. More specifically, West 85th Street will be the location.
Seneca Village was formerly a home to one of the largest Black settlements in America. The exhibit is being produced by the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art. In addition, the Say Their Names Memorial New York will also work with New York Urban League and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Digital art, photography, and technology are used in the exhibition to create an augmented reality experience. Over 200 photographs of Black people who died as a result of racism over a 200-year period will be displayed on 50 virtual pedestals in the exhibit.
“Racial violence has been a distinct part of American history since 1660,” Gaidi Finnie, the executive director of the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art (SDAAMFA), shared in a statement.
“While that violence has impacted every ethnic and racial group in the United States, it has had a particularly horrific effect on African American life ranging from revolts of the enslaved and lynchings to urban uprisings and calculated acts of murder. SDAAMFA is honored to bring this exhibition to New York City and dedicate it to the ongoing fight to end systemic racism.”
Emmett Till, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and the victims of the May Tops grocery shooting in Buffalo, New York, are among the victims honored in the memorial. There are Say Their Names Memorials spread out across the nation’s cities.