State of the Art

'Justice' arrives in court

by Nina Willdorf

A courthouse isn't always a place where you can count on judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and criminals to find common ground. But a new multimedia installation in the entrance of the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse may be the exception. The exhibit, called "Long Road to Justice: The African American Experience in the Massachusetts Courts," opened a week ago Thursday in the triangular atrium of the courthouse, with three large panel displays, a reconstructed court bench, and a video running in a continuous loop -- the first time the courthouse has ever been used as a gallery space. It's also the first overview of how African-Americans shaped the Massachusetts court system, on both sides of the bench, from the arrival of the first slaves in 1638 to the present day. After its stop at the Brooke (itself named for Massachusetts's first black attorney general), the exhibit will travel to 11 other courthouses throughout the state.

Justice Julian T. Houston, an associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court and the chair of the project, felt that installing the exhibit in courthouses would be most fitting. "We wanted the material in this exhibit to reach not only members of the public who were interested in learning about this history but also people who frequent the courthouse every day who might not otherwise be exposed to it."

Massachusetts was one of the few states that allowed slaves to seek their own freedom in a court, according to the exhibit's organizers. "African-Americans have not only been worked upon by the law, they've also been participants in law," explained Randall Kennedy, a Harvard Law School professor who served as the exhibit's lead scholar. And in a state that reveres history, finding support for the commemoration of that tradition was not difficult. Justice Houston spearheaded the extensive research efforts over the past three years. The only problem, according to Massachusetts Historical Society's Donald Yakovone, who helped curate the exhibit, was trimming and translating the often obtuse primary-source legal materials.

At last Thursday's opening, more than 100 persons gathered in the courthouse. Court personnel mingled with judges, scholars, lawyers, and security guards. Two large freestanding panels focused on education and slavery, using time lines, quotations, photographs, and images of primary-source documents to illustrate cases in which African-Americans have been involved in the court system -- from trying to win freedom from slavery to attending desegregated schools. A Boston Police cadet stood next to several lawyers reading about Morgan v. Hennigan, the lawsuit that led to the desegregation of Boston's public schools. Behind them the 15-minute looped video directed by Judy Richardson (Eyes on the Prize) had prominent African-American attorneys and judges in Massachusetts describing their experiences in the court system. Adding an unexpected touch was the metal detector in the courthouse's entrance, through which all visitors must pass.

"This exhibit is bulletproof -- from a scholarship point of view," Randall Kennedy told the audience. And as Yakovone noted later, "For some white citizens it might be an uncomfortable exhibit, but it's a truthful one."

"Long Road to Justice: The African American Experience in the Massachusetts Courts" is on view at the Edward Brooke Courthouse, 24 New Chardon Street, through November 9. Call 373-3327.