When Sam Smith opened the Perry Mansion Cultural Center in 2010, his
preeminent goal was to reclaim and reshape the narrative of black life in
America. “You build bridges by having the ability to control your image and
your story, and [black people] don’t get to do that,” Smith says. And with
each exhibit, he’s been able to tell this story piece by piece, but its
culmination will come in a few years when he’s completed building a slave
ship in the basement for an exhibit that will be called “The Slave
Experience.”
Smith says that community members have told him how much they love the
cultural center and what it has done for the neighborhood. He says that
he’s built relationships with some of the young people who were initially
causing trouble when he first moved in. “I’ve had conversations with them
about the importance of the space,” he says. “I’ve even sent three of the
young people who used to hang out on this block to Job Corps.”
Building this slave ship is something that Smith says he has been thinking
about for nine years now. By his estimate, “The Slave Experience” exhibit
will be a $1.2 million project. Fund-raising efforts for this particular
venture are in beginning stages and set to launch in September. Once the
money is raised, the ship will take two to three years to build.
Mon-Fri 9 AM-5 PM, 7042 S. Perry, 773-494-9526, perrymansion.org. F
