When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them.

- Pauli Murray, 1945

We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC is the National Women's History Museum's first physical exhibition. Located inside the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., the experience amplifies and celebrates Black women's voices, stories, and historical achievements and focuses on how Black feminists defined freedom while redefining American democracy from 1890 to today. Through biographical histories and voices of unknown and under-represented Black feminist organizers and theorists, the exhibit expresses how a select group of Black women in D.C. made a difference in their communities that rippled throughout the country. The exhibition encourages visitors to learn the historical milestones established by Black women and how their legacy and leadership shaped and strengthened their communities. Working with the Museum and historians Sherie M. Randolph and Kendra T. Field, experience design studio Tessellate created a bold and colorful exhibition system with interior nooks for contemplation.

The visual design places historical imagery into a contemporary collage with a bright and illustrative style. The historical figures look and feel larger than life. Personal quotes and details of their lives create an emotional connection while amplifying the voices of these powerful women and their contributions to the still-relevant issues of feminism, politics, civil rights, and reproductive justice. Four exhibit passageways pop with light and vibrancy, allowing visitors to traverse from one time period to another. In the introduction, a large digital interactive showcases over twenty original portraits of Black women who are significant to the movement. The subsequent sections showcase Black women's activism in the post-Emancipation and Civil Rights eras who fought for equal rights through social movements, the courts, rallies, events, and publications. An audio interactive allows visitors to hear these women "In Their Own Voices" via speeches, interviews, and songs. The central, highly participatory section encourages personal exploration and is dedicated to "Black Feminism Now." A large digital interactive contains contemporary images from rallies, protests, events, and interviews from a broad group of individuals who express what Black feminism means to them. Visitors can also honor a specific woman with a personalized note on a cherry blossom petal and shape their own call to action by creating a fill-in-the-blank manifesto.

The National Women's History Museum (NWHM) sought to make the exhibition one that honored Black women's impact on American history, from voting rights to reproductive justice, and underscored the intersectional impact of Black feminism, emphasizing the role of activists operating at the crossroads of race, class, and gender.

The exhibition's primary goal is to show that Black feminists were and continue to be, at the forefront of movements committed to liberating all humanity, and the District of Columbia is an essential location for this activism. Experientially, the exhibit aims to create an immersive, high-touch storytelling environment that supports non-traditional learning. Working with NWHM and the curatorial team, historians Dr. Sherie M. Randolph and Dr. Kendra T. Field, Tessellate created a bold and colorful exhibition system with interior nooks and passageways designed for contemplation. The experience also needed to operate within significant constraints:

• No staff or visitor guidance.

• No affixed or attached structures.

• Nonlinear with no strict start or end points, chronothematic organization.

DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIENCE

The exhibit begins by introducing the premise of D.C. as a hub for Black feminist activism from the post-Emancipation era through the 20th century. A map locates essential organizations and institutions throughout the city. A large, interactive motion graphic featuring hand-drawn, original illustrations on the adjacent wall displays a network of Black women activists and theorists. To demonstrate the interconnectedness of the causes, communities, reform efforts, and people advocating for justice, a touch screen allows visitors to click on any individual and see the women and organizations with whom they share connections. For instance, women who were all alumni of Howard University, members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), members of the NAACP, and members of Black Women's Club organizations. In the eyes of our visitors, a realization unfolds: the resilience of Black feminism doesn't arise from solitary acts of strength but rather from collective upliftment and mutual support. Also, this beginning experience introduces women the visitors will continue to see and learn about throughout the exhibit.

Visitors are welcome to explore the free-standing passageway exhibit structures in any way they like; however, bold, colorful floor signage creates three paths to follow. One path is the Post-Emancipation era, which highlights activists such as Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Church Terrell and the intellectual movements such as Black Women's Clubs and the NAACP to fight for equitable education, temperance, suffrage, and an end to Jim Crow segregation. The subsequent two-part section showcases Black women's activism during the Civil Rights era, including Pauli Murray and Eleanor Holmes Norton, who fought for equal rights through the courts and government hearings. The environmental graphics feature Manifestos, essays extolling bodily autonomy, and the need for housing reform and how, at rallies and events, Black women spoke up about police brutality and other injustices that affected their community. An audio interactive in this section allows visitors to hear songs, speeches, interviews, and powerful points of view "In Their Own Voices." The third and central section is dedicated to Black Feminism Now. This highly participatory area includes a large digital interactive of contemporary images from rallies, protests, events, and interviews from a broad group of individuals who express what Black feminism means to them.

INTERACTIVES

Despite being an unfacilitated public space, the exhibition encouraged interaction and engagement with the content through analog interactive elements that allowed visitors to see themselves within the narrative of Black feminism. These analog interactives were designed based on practical restrictions to power in the library space and to ensure reliability in a mostly unfacilitated space. A "DIY Manifesto" wall was created to allow visitors to reflect on what they learned in the exhibit and empower themselves with a manifesto and call to action for the future. A fill-in-the-blank style physical wheel can be spun to allow visitors to customize a manifesto that resonates with visitors. Enhancing the theme of self-identification within the exhibition, we devised an activity enabling visitors to recognize and pay tribute to individuals who have inspired or influenced their perspectives. A participatory exhibit called Roots and Branches invites visitors to write the name of a woman who inspires them or whom they want to recognize on a piece of paper representing the flower of a cherry blossom, a ubiquitous symbol of Washington, DC. To date, 2,000 petals have been placed on the tree in the central exhibit.

VISUAL SYSTEM

The design took inspiration from protest posters and images from the 1970s that used color blocking to call attention to important issues further enhanced by a colorful, iridescent color palette that enlivens the content. During the design stage, no detail was too small to inject expressions of Black feminism into the design. The exhibition's title font, "Marsha," created by a Black designer, was inspired by Marsha P. Johnson, a gay and transgender activist.

Materially, we wanted an ethereal, colorful light wash through the exterior windows of the iconic and recently renovated Mies van der Rohe building and to transform the library facade into a welcoming preview of the experience inside. Dichroic color panels reflect the windows on the exterior making a colorful statement, with powerful and personal quotes from Black activists and theorists. This creates a light filled play of colors on the interior, and a vibrant view from the inside looking out.

The overall visual design concept for the exhibit structures was to communicate the energy and passion of the feminist pioneers while also communicating the seriousness of their work. The outside of the exhibit structures were envisioned to have a bold and dynamic style, featuring big, bold images of feminism in action. The interior of the structures were intended to be more muted in tone, with an abundance of detailed content outlining each of the featured women's accomplishments and what that meant to Black Feminism. Furthermore, to honor the women in a way that reflects their outsized influence, the scale of the visual system was meticulously designed to imbue historical figures with a larger-than-life presence. This approach highlights the impact of their efforts and serves as a source of inspiration, highlighting their enduring relevance in shaping our lives today. Artfully collaged with vibrant color and texture, the oversized black-and-white historical imagery injects dynamic energy into the narratives, seamlessly bridging the past with a contemporary context. This transformative approach breathes life into the archival content, making the narratives resonate powerfully in the present day.

PHYSICAL DESIGN

The design and layout of the exhibit structures draw inspiration from creating a space that radiates outward from a central location; a central, communal space, a place where ideas and people can gather together. The spatial arrangements were designed to support the idea that community is at the center of any great movement and that visitors can engage with one another in a constructive and meaningful way. Visitors can choose their own path through these stories and the concentric rings reinforce the interrelationships of many of the women, and the continuity and expansion of their ideas.

We also sought to create a safe space, meaning the structures needed to establish a protective presence, creating a safe space for visitors to meander and not feel hurried. We see the exhibit as a grand space with smaller nooks designed for exploration.

Limitations were placed on the design of structures due to the historic nature and non-traditional exhibition space in this Library. Because the building was recently renovated, structures could not be affixed to the floor, ceiling, or walls.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING

While inhabiting the public space means no regular staff to facilitate the exhibition, frequent in-person educational programming encourages young readers to engage with books and stories from Black women. To foster an even stronger motivation to learn and read the stories of Black women, a 'Book Nook' of curated books relating to the exhibit was created as a dedicated, contemplative space to reflect and read materials related to Black feminist themes.

RESULT

The exhibition has welcomed over 13,500 guests to date. While the Library does not track visitor demographics, the primary program attendees of this branch are students and seniors. As a result of meticulous planning, Black Feminist DC is an exhibition that resonates deeply with visitors. In a survey of visitors, 100% say they have learned something new, 80% say they felt inspired, 80% say they wanted to learn more about Black feminism, and 60% say they would advocate for a cause discussed in the exhibition.

Tessellate is honored to partner with the National Women's History Museum, Dr. Sherie M. Randolph, and Dr. Kendra T. Field. Our shared commitment to educating through compelling narratives, fostering profound connections, and empowering audiences to enact positive change reflects our dedication to making a lasting impact on the world. With the support from the full team, we are proud to have brought this unique and thoughtful curation of Black feminist history, theory, and practice that is indeed the first of its kind to life in the birthplace of its movement, Washington, DC.