There is a “Jim Crow Museum” at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, and it is not, to quote its official statement, “a shrine to racism.” It is, on the other hand, a testament to the resilience of Black Americans, established to “use objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice.” The museum’s collection of racist objects began in the 1970s, when David Pilgrim, former professor of sociology and now Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at Ferris State, began collecting these objects in flea markets across…
