Episode 42: What's More American Than Slavery (w/ Dell Marie Hamilton)

Summary: Hi everyone. I hope you are staying safe, healthy, and sane in these strange time. Today is another week of quarantining and it seems states and countries are slowly opening up but I don't know if that is the best idea without a vaccine. I guess we will have to wait and see. There's only a few more weeks of teaching in the semester for my university and after that I don't know what is happening. Things are out of my hands regarding that, as I am sure it is with everyone else. Anyway. For today, I have a special interview with Dell Marie Hamilton, an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and curator. Dell has a B.A. in journalism from Northeastern University and an MFA from Tufts University. With roots in Belize, Honduras and the Caribbean, Dell frequently draws upon the personal experiences of her family as well as the history and folkloric traditions of the region. In addition to her performances, Dell works as a curator for the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. I first encountered one of Dell's performance in late February at the Hood Museum in New Hampshire. Titled "Blues\Blank\Black", Dell's performance took inspiration from Toni Morrison's novels combined with stories of police brutality on black and brown women, all this while within the context of an art museum. I was able to connect with Dell after the performance and that is how we ending up talking for the podcast. By the time we recorded, it was just as the Covid-19 shutdown began in the US. For some reason, the internet audio quality wasn't the best and the audio skips a few times, so I apologize for that. I did my best to fix it post-production. Throughout our conversation, Dell and I talk about the tension between body and property, nationalism in museum spaces, and how oral traditions are not static. I hope you enjoy this.