Last year, in UA's Documenting Justice series, a team of UA students made a ten-minute short documentary about the significance of Foster and the politics of memory.
There are a lot of issues imbedded in how collectively to mark a past event, especially in a place that attaches so much meaning to something called "the past" or "tradition"...and especially when the event is charged with social change, racism, and state/federal policy.
The new design is supposed to make practical use of the space while marking the events of June 11, 1963. Do you think it does both effectively? What does it even mean to remember something "effectively" and what kinds of assumptions/appeals are made in the process? And do you think answers to such questions do/should change when the context is different...something like KA's controversial "Old South Parade"...?
Here's a picture of the new Foster design:
Click here to read about the renovation in the Crimson White
And here's the CW article after the board approved the design
I believe that renovating Foster Auditorium would be a good thing. I think otherwise it looks like something we are trying to hide on our campus; a condemned old abandoned building. But if we renovating and showcase the good and the bad that went down there, history is demonstrated and remembered and a lesson can be learned from that. Just because something happened that is not the best in something's history, doesn't mean you cant learn from it and make it into something positive in the end. I would rather see Foster renovated rather than torn down so something else can be created there. History is to be remembered and learned from so as not to repeat itself in ugly ways.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Reagan. Showcasing/commemorating the past, both good & bad, not only helps some learn from it but also shows how far we have come. Admittedly, there are still issues here, but progress has definitely been made. I have never been to this building? I dont think? But I should definitely check it out once renovations are done. Its funny that I haven't been to this building because some of my family have actually ridiculed me for attending UA, because of this particular incident. I'm the only one in my family to ever attend UA. So again, I just think it says a lot about how far UA, Alabama, & African Americans have come.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Reagan as well! I think it's true lessons can often be learned from negative experiences. So long as we don't celebrate the negative experiences themselves.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see UA actually trying to in some part, right a wrong. Turning this dark time in our history into a learning experience is certainly a lot better than tearing the building down and forgetting it ever happened. Memorials like Foster remind us of the way things used to be, why they needed to change, and keep us fighting for a better future.
ReplyDeleteFoster Auditorium needed to be renovated, it was not in good shape and it’s not like UA has a ton of land to choose from around the core of campus, add that to increasing enrollment and it’s a no brainer. As for memorializing the site, I honestly don’t care one way or another. No matter what is done on that site, even if they raze it to the ground and put up a McDonald’s, it will not change the fact of what happened there. And regardless of where it happened, it doesn’t take away what needed to be learned from the action. For me personally, no statue or plaque or ceremony will ever be as powerful as the picture above, to me, that picture says it all, it is a picture of zealotry, arrogance, and ignorance, everything I don’t want to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it won't change what happened there but if we don't pay tribute to the history then isn't history doomed to repeat itself?
ReplyDeleteJust because it doesn't matter to some people doesn't mean that everyone feels that way. Just like with the Trail Maids--they don't factor in the all of the meaning. Paying tribute isn't the same as learning. However, I think it should be done. I feel as though building a McDonald's would only imply that the University and students, etc. didn't care. The University would get a bad rap from this. It's already bad enough that it happened, but covering it up or doing away with it in any way would not help. I think that commemorating the building was a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm really not sure how I feel about the whole Foster Auditorium issue...
ReplyDeleteThe reason I feel so torn is because I don't want to glorify the "ugly past," as it were, but at the same time I think it's important to remember what happened...
Enter, commemoration. How much of the building should be used for memories' sake, and how much should be employed to new ends (so that we can "move on" from that event)? It's not like the building was being used in its degraded form...it just kinda loomed there...an ugly reminder of segregation in UA's (and Alabama's) past...
I know this is a grossly exaggerated example, but it's sort of like the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall. Yes, we're commemorating the dead and remembering the "men who died for their country," which sounds like a good thing. But in the end, aren't we just commemorating a horrible, unsuccessful event that shouldn't have even happened in the first place? To me, that kind of seems like a slap in the face. Sentient activity after death aside, if I was a soldier that had died unnecessarily in an unsuccessful war venture, I'm not sure if I'd want to be commemorated for that...
It makes me wonder what Vivian Malone and James Hood would think about the whole Foster Auditorium thing?