Kara Walker’s works draw upon and depict legacies of racial trauma, sexual violence, and enslavement—engaging with this exhibition may elicit painful and complex feelings, especially for those who have experienced trauma or are otherwise connected to the issues presented in Walker’s art. The Sexual Assault Center’s Black Client Services Team has compiled the following list of resources to offer additional support.
Reflection Questions
- What feelings came up for you during your time in the exhibition?
- What questions do you have about the art or the artist?
- What piece(s) stood out to you the most and why?
Helping Organizations
- NSVRC: National Sexual Violence Resource Center
- RAIIN
- SASHA Center
- Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence
- Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community
Support
- Sexual Assault Center’s 24-Hour Crisis & Support Line: 1.866.811.RISE (7473)
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1.800.656.HOPE (4673)
- SAFE Clinic: 615.258.5888
Listening
- Finding Our Way podcast, by Prentis Hemphill
- Collectively Speaking podcast, by Ujima
- Grounding Exercise, by Mariah Shepherd
Reading
- At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance—a New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power, by Danielle McGuire
- “Dangerous Intersections,” by INCITE!
- My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, by Resmaa Menakem
- You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience, edited by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown
- Surviving the Silence: Black Women’s Stories of Rape by Charlotte Pierce-Baker
Viewing
- “Dear Black Women, Let’s talk about healing,” by Angela Bowden at TEDxMSVUWomen
- I May Destroy You
- The Rape of Recy Taylor