The Monumental Project

Monuments in Museums, Part 2: Beyond the Display Case / Más Allá de la Vitrina

What happens when Indigenous researchers respond to a Western museum calling a codex a "living ancestor"? In this season finale and our first episode entirely in Spanish, Dr. Omar Aguilar Sánchez, Mixtec archaeologist and founder of Colectivo Nchivi Ñuu Savi, and Mtro. Gibránn Becerra Álvarez, archaeologist and member of Voladores de Cuetzalan del Progreso, bring the voices that Part 1 was missing. They speak from their communities about codices as living heritage, rematriation, ongoing colonial processes, and why the definitions of "monument" and "cultural heritage" need to be rethought from the voices of the peoples themselves. — ¿Qué pasa cuando investigadores indígenas responden a un museo occidental que describe un códice como un "ancestro vivo"? En este final de temporada y nuestro primer episodio completamente en español, el Dr. Omar Aguilar Sánchez, arqueólogo mixteco, fundador y director del Colectivo Nchivi Ñuu Savi, y el Mtro. Gibránn Becerra Álvarez, arqueólogo e integrante de Voladores de Cuetzalan del Progreso, traen las voces que faltaban en la Parte 1. Nos hablan desde sus comunidades sobre los códices como patrimonio vivo, la rematriación, procesos coloniales vigentes, y por qué las definiciones de "monumento" y "patrimonio cultural" necesitan ser repensadas desde las voces de los pueblos. Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

Monuments in Museums, Part 1: The Amoxtli Tezcatlipoca

When does an artifact in a museum reach "monumental" status? In this episode, we're exploring the concept of belongings as monuments, primarily focusing on the Amoxtli Tezcatlipoca (or the Codex Fejérváry-Mayer) with Meghan Backhouse from National Museums Liverpool and José Sherwood, an expert on the amoxtli. This will be the first part as the second part will be with Nahua scholars conducted in the spanish language.  Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

Creative Extremism: A Conversation with Michelle Browder

What is creative extremism? Michelle Browder uses this phrase from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to describe her work as both an artist and activist in Montgomery, Alabama. In this episode, Michelle tells us about her company, More Than Tours, as well as the Mothers of Gynecology monument that she created in protest of the J. Marion Sims statue. Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

Protecting Freedmen's Town, Part 2: Preservation with Freedmen's Town Conservancy

In this episode, we're continuing our conversation about Freedmen's Town by turning toward some of the efforts currently happening to protect the infrastructure while also modernizing it as a livable community. We're joined by Sharon Fletcher, Executive Director of the Freedmen's Town Conservancy, who tells us why Freedmen's Town is a monument of worldwide importance.  Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

Protecting Freedmen's Town, Part 1: History & Advocacy

In this episode, we're meeting with the folks of Freedmen's Town in Houston, Texas. Freedmen's Town is a historic neighborhood developed entirely by the formerly enslaved people of the greater Houston area after their emancipation. However, preserving the town has been a challenge due to ongoing developments and modernization. Joining us from the Rutherford B. Yates Museum, Catherine Roberts and her colleagues tell us all about the history of the town as well as the advocacy work to keep it preserved as best as possible.  Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES