Designing “Shining Light on Truth” with David Jon Walker and Michael Morand: MAB 2/5/24

A behind the scenes look at the design thinking for a new exhibition at the New Haven Museum, “Shining Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery,” curated by Michael J. Morand with Charles E. Warner, Jr., and designed by David Jon Walker. The exhibition will be on view at the museum, 114 Whitney Avenue, from February 16. It is presented by Beinecke Library, Yale University Library.
The exhibition complements the publication of the new book “Yale and Slavery: A History” by David W. Blight with the Yale and Slavery Research Project and draws from the research project’s key findings in areas such as the economy and trade, Black churches and schools, the 1831 Black college proposal, and memory and memorialization in the 20th century and today. The exhibition has a special focus on stories of Black New Haven, including early Black students and alumni of Yale.
“Shining Light on Truth” presents evidence of the essential role of enslaved and free Black people in New Haven and at Yale. It celebrates Black resistance and community building. And it illuminates knowledge kept alive in archives and memory for more than three centuries-even when the dominant culture chose to ignore, bury, or forget.
Morand is Director of Community Engagement at Beinecke. He authored a chapter in “Yale and Slavery: A History” and has been a leader in the research project’s research and work. A New Havener for four decades, he chairs the Friends of the Grove Street Cemetery and is on the boards for the Dixwell Q House and the Community Foundation.
Walker earned his MFA in graphic design from Yale in 2023. He has a BA in art from Tennessee State University and an MFA in web design from the University of Memphis. Before coming to New Haven, he was a professor in design at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. Walker is Artist in Residence this year at Yale’s Jonathan Edwards College.
Mondays at Beinecke online talks focus on materials from the collections and include an opening presentation at 4pm followed by conversation and question and answer beginning about 4:30pm until 5pm.