History from Below: Memorialization Projects

History from Below is a collection of memorialization design projects completed by students in Dr. Bryan Banks’s HIST1112: World History since 1500 survey classes at Columbus State University. The phrase “history from below,” popularized by E.P. Thompson in the 1960s, challenges us to reconstruct historical events and processes from the perspective of the oppressed rather than the oppressor or “victor.” Memorial projects found here focus on enslaved Africans and their forced migrations across the Atlantic Ocean to the western hemisphere.

Projects from 2019

Projects from 2020

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Born into a Generational Curse

Taurean Reeves, Lia Boyce, Nyx Daugharty, and Jason Dine
Bunce Island

Sharon Carney, Kristal Colberg, Raven Watkins, and Victoria Jackson
Columbus River Walk Enslaved African Memorial

Jacob Bolar, Kyndall Cason, Brittany Hart, and Kameren Wesley
Forgotten Victims

Shelby Taft, Claire Patterson, Winnie Snyder, and Joshua Thompson
Fort Montego Memorial

Nyah Avila, Morgan Pierce, Kennedy Robertson, and Nasya Williams
Fountain of Legacies

Karmen Johnson, Carrington Perry, and Loren Weaver
Freedom Angel Memorial

Israel Cordero, Oluwayemisi Odeboh, Jequan Dean, and Jacreyn Felder
Globe of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Melissa Champion, Gabby Sande, Katherine Samuelson, and Molly Strozier
Portugal in the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Mattea Twigg, Brelynn DaQuilla, Naomi Masuoka, and Marstydia Ware
Saint Domingue Memorial Statue

Franklin Mixon, Jessica Featherngill, Justin Baker, and Arrionna March
Steps They Took

Victoria Buchanan, Jamesha Smith, and Katelyn Mullins
Strange Fruit

Makayla Styles, Jamia Stewart, Donavon Hobley, and Destiny Lockhart
Sugar Cane Memorial

Amber Mazzola, James Ellerbee, Ashley Adamian, and Octavia Jenkins
Three Captives Memorial at the Porte du Non Retour in Ghana

Samuel Owen, Alexandria Dyer, Aubree Mitchell, and Makenzie Harrison
Walker-Peters-Langdon House

Kewanee Story, Jacquelyn Felton, Bianca Johnson, and Aliyah Spivey
African Statue of Liberty

Jason Bracey, Fredrick Cole, Cierra Fenn, and Lauren Bentley
Black House

Jada Smith, LaChantel Allen-Sheppard, Daniel Hill, and Nick Daut
Brierfield Plantation Museum

Kendall Malott, Kimberly May, Brian Diokpara, and Abigail Marmito
Broken Chains of South Carolina

Mackenzie Sanford, Katelyn Tillis, Colby Harden, and Chris Counts
Cartagena de Indias

Fabian Asdrubal, Gabriel Williams, and Alvaro Regalado
Circular Process of Labor

Grace Fournier, Jason Vazquez, Camille McAlister, and Hayden Fritzky
Cormier Beach: The Lasting Effects of the Haitian Revolution

Brande George, Arika Carter, and Alisa Ashford
Detrimental Tears

Cooper Kennedy, Jacob Kimball, Monica Roberts, and Orlandrea Anderson
El Esclavo De Caribe

Kanise Triplett, Makenzie Bailey, Amaris Daniels, and Jasmine Harris
Four Corners Exhibit

Tyler Grant, Cabel Belflower, Hannah McGhee, and Sonnet Moore