#12DaysOfArt: (Un)Known Project

#12DaysOfArt: (Un)Known Project

by Hannah Drake

Unknown -  one that is not known or not well-known especially : a person who is little known (as to the public) 2 : something that requires discovery, identification, or clarification: such as. a : a symbol (such as x, y, or z) in a mathematical equation representing an unknown quantity.

It was a talk that I had with Rachel Platt from The Frazier Museum as she told me about Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, an enslaved married couple that escaped to Canada to taste freedom that ignited the (Un)Known Project. I had never heard of the Blackburns, and I started searching for other names of enslaved Black people that simply were not known to history. I visited a former plantation in Louisville that told the story of the over 50 enslaved people that once resided on the land. My first question was, “What were their names?” I felt that I needed to know their names to honor them, to respect them, to let them know that we acknowledged that they were here, that they existed. The historian said, “We are still in the process of trying to discover their names. It is difficult because many of them are listed in the records as Negro gal, Negro wench. Their names simply aren’t listed.”

How many enslaved Black men, women, and children names do we not know? Visiting former plantations in Louisville, I discovered slave cemeteries with unmarked rocks as headstones. Entire lives buried with no acknowledgement of even a name.

But they were here. They lived. Some of them may have married and had children. I wondered about their stories and their experiences. I wondered about the sacrifices they made to survive. How many of them sought freedom just across the Ohio River, whose bodies were left in the water as a deterrent for others seeking freedom. There are so many questions that will never have answers. However, a start is acknowledging that we recognize and honor that they were here. 

As the lead artists, Josh Miller and I have partnered with The Frazier Museum, Roots 101, Louisville Metro Government and other organizations and artists to create a space on the Ohio River to honor those names that we would never know. The hidden and unhidden figures in Louisville, whose lives allowed so many Black people to stand today. To bring life to the unknown names of enslaved people that attempted to cross the Ohio River to freedom. 

That is the genesis for the (Un)Known Project. While we may not know their names, we as a community can come together to say we honor the fact that you were here, the life you had will no longer be ignored. Our city understands what it has done, and through this project, we seek to honor the enslaved Black men, women, and children whose lives and legacies were forever altered by America’s original sin. 

Here are some of the planned artistic components for (Un)Known Project:

• Limestone Reconciliation Benches overlooking river

• A Journey In Our Footprints as part of existing multimodal infrastructure project

• Exhibition Components for inside the Frazier Museum and Roots 101

• Floating Reconciliation Experience on the Belle of Louisville

• (Un)Known App

• (Un)Known Product Line

To learn more about the (Un)Known Project and to donate to help create this project please click here.