ALGERNON MILLER (continued)
by Keira Wesley-Busher
fascination with the psychological exploitation of the African mind. An intense social revolutionary in mission, he began to explore the various reasons Black people were in the psychological space they were in and the key elements imposing on that soul force.
This new awareness and study inspired the De-Tom-O-Tron and the Negro Maze projects currently in the works. As he explains, “There’s no point in our history where we were de-programmed, so my research and ideas opened the door to the realization of Black people in the Diaspora being a global people being separated only by language. So the challenge is to bring that true consciousness together. This is not something I intellectualized, but divinely inspired.” Miller’s work-in-progress will be an architectural metaphor for the concepts of trial, redemption and progress celebrating the entire African-American story. This “living” museum will utilize state-of-the-art technology exhibits with an edifice designed in the shape of a cross.
The ingenious concept will allow visitors to meander through the maze to witness the atrocities of slavery, Jim Crow and racism descending into actual dead-end corridors that represent the confusion and self-destruction encountered in the lives of many African-Americans. The painful experiences of the Maze will disappear as visitors enter the Pyramid of Ancestry and then the Pyramid of Self where the displays of ancestral history and individual accomplishments of Africans around the world will be revealed. The journey will end with the Pyramid of Light and the Marcus Garvey Trail that represents clear vision, new directions, global unity and peace.
While Miller and the African Monument Society Board seal the technical and financial aspects of the maze project, he continues to intuit our world artistically in a variety of forms at galleries throughout the city. Through artistic expression, Miller hopes to compel others to take time to nurture their spiritual selves and escape the economic trap that has become all too familiar in our society. |
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