An Exhibit on 1950s Life Reproduces Segregation
The BOOM exhibit successfully erases the Black experience in Montgomery County during the 1950s.
The Future is Another Country
The BOOM exhibit successfully erases the Black experience in Montgomery County during the 1950s.
People who lived in communities destroyed by urban renewal and gentrification frequently frame their narratives about displacement as theft. They see their homes, businesses, and churches as stolen by capitalism. Spaces for the dead are among those stolen and erased.
By his own admission, film creator Gottlieb was able to spend most of his life in Silver Spring shielded from the community’s past that included widespread discrimination in the community’s businesses, public buildings, and housing. Even after completing the film, Gottlieb appears to have learned little about the substantial role racism played in shaping his community.