Silence is not having nothing to say, but not having words for all that needs to be said.
Juana Ines de la Cruz (d.1695)
Museum of Silenced Histories
Rebuilding relationships with the land , sharing one garden and one story at a time
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The Museum of Silenced Histories (MSH) project germinated in 2020 embodies CC4ES' mission in two platforms for its outcomes of transformative justice and equity: a living museum in both digital and physical forms accompanied by a community-convening space at the 2nd Chance Book Garden; and a community sharing collective regenerative garden, Gardens of Second Chances, established with Rhody Grows Hope by the communities of the silenced -- diasporic community gardens along the interstate highway 95 corridor.
MSH is an emergent voicing of the silenced through communal acts of storytelling and sharing embedded within all CC4ES programs and activities. The MSH offers a space for minority, underrepresented, and marginalized members of society to share their stories and have their voices heard, perhaps, for the first time. It is a place that such members can identify with, and a place of healing and reconciliation.
MSH activities take place at the 2nd Chance Book Garden, a community collaborative book and garden shop with a makerspace, and Gardens of Second Chances, a sharing garden where community members build intergenerational and intercultural relationships through communal acts of gardening to grow food, sharing and telling food stories for transformative food justice, as a gateway to environmental, social and economic justice and equity.
The 2nd Chance Book Garden library houses history and knowledge recorded orally, visually, and in writings by the members of these communities as well as books and digital resources focusing on issues they face; its gallery (matched by an online version) celebrates the rich and diverse creativity of these communities; and a green space that features Garden of Second Chances as a site of healing, hope, and nurturance within parameters designed by nature.
MISSION
Re-anchoring our relationships with the land and ourselves to heal and for regenerative sustainability, one garden and one story at a time
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To honor the essential relationship between humans and Earth by collecting, celebrating and sharing stories of this bond as lived through those whose histories have previously been silenced
To use an interweaving of visual, oral and written stories, alongside the ongoing tending and cultivation of Earth's sacred land, to present the diversity, richness, and collective wisdom and strength that underlies and shapes the Rhode Island identity
To reconnect communities with the land, and to re-establish relationships and dialogue necessary for achieving environmental and social justice.
INSPIRATIONS FOR MSH
Story Tapestries from around the world
Upcoming Events
- Sat, Oct 30Cc4ES Museum of Silenced Histories Kick-off
- Sat, Sep 25Exeter
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