Currently on view at the Anderson Gallery is an exhibition titled “Our Town: Reclaiming the Narrative” curated by Lenore Metrick-Chen, professor of art and cultural history, and students in the professor’s Black Americans and Photography course. The exhibition is on view now through Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.

“Our Town: Reclaiming the Narrative” celebrates the works of a number of Black people in our community who defined their own paths leading to civic engagement and community building, improving the lives of all inhabitants. Three of the people featured in videos are currently Drake students and one a Drake alum who de-segregated Drake’s women’s dormitory in the 1940s.

In light of recent racial incidents, the exhibition demonstrates a Drake University we can be proud of. We need to counter the hate with a show of solidarity in rallies and in academics: amending Drake’s visual culture and white space through exhibitions, and placing Drake in a larger context through thoughtful public lectures. Such events and activities can help catalyze Drake University to become “Our Town” — a more racially aware campus.

Lenore Metrick-Chen, Associate Professor of Art History