Human Commodities Project

The Human Commodities exhibit features images and objects that tell the history of African Americans and Native Americans who have long been seen as inferior to Americans of European descent. The exhibit displays how both marginalized groups have been seen as objects and used to produce, manufacture, and sell goods and entertainment in the United States. I have organized the exhibit to show the connected history that African Americans and Native Americans share, starting from the enslavement of their bodies and the appropriation of their culture and likeness. Each item aims to tell the story of the past and make the viewer seek and question current examples of commodification, not only in the United States but around the world. The exhibit also aims to provide an understanding of how both positive and negative uses of marginalized people's likeness and culture affect people and our society.  

As a humanist, I am set on giving a voice to the voiceless and the oppressed. As an African American with Native American ancestry, I have picked items that help tell the history and bring to light the current issue of objectifying people and their culture for the sake of capitalism. The pieces in this collection currently cover the history of slavery and advertising of both African Americans and Native Americans. However, they are also meant to give insight into the same oppression faced by other minority groups living in the United States. Images consist of documents of sales and auctions of slaves to show the scale of the commodification of humans. The second half of the exhibit shows the negative impact of stereotyping African Americans and Native Americans to sell products. Pieces in this section include positive and negative stereotypes for packaging and advertising. I hope you will walk away from this exhibit with an understanding of how human commodification shaped the United States and continues to shape the world around us. I also hope you walk away questioning where and how the goods you use today are produced, manufactured, and sold. 

-Trixy Lemell