This artifact is the list that includes the names of the missing and also the locations of the murdered children's bodies. This list was created after community leaders and committees forced the city to assemble a task force. The task force was formed to find these children and bring them home. Unfortunately, these children never got to return home. This artifact is significant because it shows a form of closure that these families had to settle for after learning that their beloved children were now deceased. This artifact shows how many African American children suffered and how their families would have to continue life without their loved ones. The number of black children that lost their lives in this time range is absurd. This artifact shows that the African American experience is one of tragedy. Black people have always been on the receiving end of America’s harsh character assassination. This artifact connects with the learning objectives in my course because Black people have experienced a recycled form of trauma in America. The neglect and suffering of Black and Brown people have become guaranteed instead of unjust. Similar to the discussion that was held with Dr. Daniel Black about The Coming, our people have constantly risen from the ashes but we have always had to play catch up. This artifact supports my notions that history has always affected Black people in America because very few acknowledge the wrongs committed against Black folk. It is necessary to know the names of these children and speak of them in conversation. We watched a music video in class that referenced saying the names of those that had experienced racial violence. Just as people know the names of Emmett Till, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, and Ahmaud Arbery, they must learn and know of these Atlanta children.

The artifact teaches ways for children to try to remain safe despite the calamity in their environment. The artifact is like a miniature rule book on how to stay alive as a child. This artifact was handed out by community leaders to parents as a resource or a “how to” manual for keeping their children alive. The artifact shows how dangerous and unprotected these parents must have felt to initiate these booklets. The parents knew the police and city officials were not making an energized effort to protect their children so they created methods of doing it on their own. This artifact shows that the African American experience is protection. Being a protector and provider in the African American experience correlates to your ranking on the Dagara Cosmology wheel. Being placed as a certain element on the wheel can make you more of a protector than some. Even as it was discussed in The Coming, we had certain roles that were enacted in our communities. Some were healers, others were warriors and protectors. This artifact supports my notions about how history has affected Black people in America because little to no protection has ever been offered to our people so we have always had to inherit the roles of the protector and savior because no one has ever done it for us. This artifact connects with the rest of my exhibit because the dependency on awaited instructions from law enforcement went out the window. We waited patiently for protection and answers but we grew tired and found them on our own.

This artifact is showing a group of people gathered to protest the murders and kidnappings of Atlanta Children. Many different emotions are running rampant throughout the photo. In the photograph, are expressions of sadness, anger, and disdain for what has happened to the children. Those gathered are seeking to have the unknown serial killer apprehended. The community had grown tired of reporting their children missing and then receiving a lackluster response from authorities. It was not until more and more children were murdered that the authorities were forced to do detective work and assemble a task unit specifically for the children. The significance of this artifact is within the people gathered. These people were tired of receiving the short end of the stick, especially when it came to their children. They sought help and were ignored by government officials and the police. The only course of action left was to protest. This artifact says that the African American experience does whatever it takes, however, it needs to get done. This artifact shows that the African American experience has an unbreakable bond when brought together with a common good at hand. Our people will go through whatever trials and tribulations to rightfully receive justice. This artifact connects with this course because of the unification of Black people. This was seen greatly  during the Black Panthers protests. We also learned that our community holds many values that keep us together as a people and it is expressed heavily in this artifact. This artifact supports the notion of how history has affected Black people in America because we have always had to gather together and depend not on the government or anyone else but ourselves. We have always been the ones pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. This artifact connects with the rest of my exhibit because it shows how impactful our voice was in getting the authorities to take the initiative. 

This artifact shows a newspaper clipping of a little boy that was helping carry the casket of someone he knew at the succession of the funeral. This clipping is used to evoke the recognition of the nation that regardless of who has helped short term, a long-term commitment is needed to bring this killer to justice. This artifact is significant because the trauma that has unknowingly spewed onto this child who was inherently involved in the Atlanta Child murders will be with him for life and all other children who were constantly involved in this tragedy. This artifact says that we inherently carry trauma and burdens that are not ours within the African American experience and it is always us carrying this trauma because we are never able to release it. The artifact connects with the course because of how we talked about the presidency of Ronald Reagan and his neglect of Black people. In the same way that American history has always repeated its undervalue for black folk, we learn that the murdered children were neglected by the police and government officials. The artifact connects with the rest of the exhibit because here, we learn about the disengaged response that allowed over 25 children to be murdered. This establishes the specifics of who has been underserved and unvalued within America.