African American Contributions to American Design
African American Contributions to American Design
Join us for African American Contributions to American Design, a two-part online lecture series this February. Discover the life and work of Thomas Commeraw, the first African American potter owner. Explore the art, history, and social impact of Black potters in the Lowcountry through two engaging talks by leading scholars.
Jason R. Young is a Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He specializes in the history of art, religion, and folk culture. He recently served as co-curator of Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina. This touring exhibition opened at the Metropolitan Museum in 2022. It later traveled to the MFA Boston, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the High Museum.
His first book, Rituals of Resistance: African Atlantic Religion in Kongo and the Lowcountry Region of Georgia and South Carolina in the Era of Slavery, explores religious and ritual practices. These practices linked West-Central Africa with the Lowcountry region of Georgia and South Carolina. Young has also published articles in several academic journals. These include The Journal of African American History, The Journal of Africana Religions, and The Journal of Southern Religion. His latest book project is titled The Mask of Memory: White Racial Fantasy after the Civil War. It will be published in 2026 by the University of North Carolina Press.
