Why We Must Remember the Spectacle of the Past

The Performance of Power: Why We Must Remember the Spectacle of the Past

​History is rarely just a collection of dates; more often, it is captured in the chilling stillness of a photograph. There are images that do more than record a moment, they document a systemic hierarchy. When we look at vintage photos of white men posing proudly beside a Black individual treated as a “curiosity” or a prop, we aren’t just looking at individual prejudice. We are looking at a deliberate, staged performance of dehumanization.

​For centuries across both the United States and Europe, the “Human Zoo” and the minstrel show were not fringe activities; they were mainstream entertainment. Families dressed in their Sunday best to gawk at fellow human beings who had been reduced to exhibits. This wasn’t just about personal animosity it was about a social contract that positioned one race as the observer and the other as the object.

​The Architecture of the Spectacle

​In these historical images, the clothing often tells the story. A man in a military uniform represents the power of the state. A man in a suit represents the “respectability” of the middle class. Between them, a Black person is often stripped of their name and history, transformed into a costume or a caricature for the lens.

​This dynamic served a specific purpose: to normalize the idea that Black bodies existed for public consumption, entertainment, and “scientific” study. This “logic of the exhibit” laid the groundwork for:

• ​Scientific Racism: Using staged photos to “prove” evolutionary hierarchies.

• ​Legal Segregation: Justifying separation by presenting Black culture as “other” or “exotic.”

• ​Cultural Erasure: Replacing actual African history with a manufactured spectacle.

​A Legacy That Refuses to Fade

​It is a mistake to view these era-defining images as “ancient history.” The individuals who smiled for those cameras passed their worldviews down to their children. The institutions that funded these exhibitions, universities, museums, and governments, still exist today. While we no longer put people in literal cages, the underlying belief that certain communities are meant to be surveilled, judged, or used for entertainment persists in modern media and policing.

​Forgiveness, Memory, and Accountability

​The phrase “forgive and forget” is often weaponized to silence the descendants of the oppressed. However, true healing requires a different approach: Remembering to ensure it never happens again. Forgiveness is a personal path toward peace, but it should never be confused with the erasure of history. To forget how our ancestors were treated is to leave the door open for those same power structures to reinvent themselves under new names.

​The real question we must face when looking at the past is not just “how did they do this?” but “what structures created in that era are still standing today?” By connecting these dots, we move from being passive observers of history to active architects of a more dignified future.