The Soul of A Nation exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum was extremely powerful and moving. Much of the work focused on discrimination and oppression that African Americans have had to face, as well as how many overcame it. There were many photographs, paintings, and creations, but the thing that caught my attention the most was actually one of the smaller creations. Titled “Traditional Hang Up”, it is a piece by artist and activist John Outterbridge and was part of his Containment Series of 1969. Outerbridge’s Containment Series was a collection of art that depicted how African Americans and the lifestyle they carried was very contained. They were restricted from any upward mobility due to legal segregation laws, and were forced to live in subpar conditions.

The sculpture itself, is a metal T-shape with the American flag going across the top, and circular metal fragments going down the bottom. This piece was very intriguing to me because it was up to each individual to interpret the meaning. On the card next to the work, the only information available is the artist, and the collection that the art is part of. The way I interpreted this piece was that our country had progressed so far at the expense of African Americans and immigrants in general. The circular fragments of metal running down the T-shape resemble skulls, and they are what’s holding up the American flag. To me, this symbolized all the deaths and selfless sacrifices that had to occur, in order for our great nation to be in the place that it is.