The Recognitions: an experiment in social architecture and a 60-mile memorial
MY FAMILY OWNS IT THEREFORE I OWN IT
The history of the United States motivates much of my work. Even more specifically the history of my family, who has been here since the 1600’s. Having grown up in rural Georgia with very little capital I was recently shocked into recognition of the contribution my family made here. Because I grew up without the privilege of material wealth I never considered that my family would have been involved in the terror that is the underbelly of the United States. Looking into this history revealed itself to me: my great-great-great grandfather was a slaveholder and most male relatives before. I discovered this by reading a letter given to me by my grandmother in a packet of information she had compiled (Mrs. Mary Carson Bumpous is my great-great grandmother):