Abstracts History

Reconstructing the Narrative: Illuminating Savannah’s Civil Rights History

by William Trice Megginson

'In the body of work, Reconstructing the Narrative: Illuminating Savannah’s Civil Rights History, I look to the past to find inspiration and to interpret the present. Many artists have engaged in rephotography projects – returning to and rephotographing places that were documented by others decades and even a century prior – as commentary on changes to the environment and to photography itself. While I employ a similar strategy, my work is centered on the social and political history of a place. Using archival and historical photographs from the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement in Savannah, I set out to rephotograph the original, depicted locations. The historical images are then physically attached and overlaid on these contemporary views. The goal of Reconstructing the Narrative: Illuminating Savannah’s Civil Rights History is for viewers to be inspired to seek out information on Savannah’s Civil Rights history and encourage the tourism industry to begin to include this part of history in the narrative presented to tourists.' Keywords: rephotography, Savannah, Georgia, history, civil rights, time, politics, social issues, Jim Crow Photos included in second PDF. Advisors/Committee Members: CHAIR: Mosch, Steven P., Fischer, Thomas, Goldstein, Holly Markovitz.