"Kin Killin' Kin" Exhibit

Opening November 14, 2015

at the

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Kin Killin’ Kin is a striking visual experience exploring youth violence in black, inner city communities. Local artist and Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts alum James Pate uses charcoal to create compelling visual scenes of young black men donned in Ku Klux Klan hoods committing or in the act of committing violent acts. Pate’s series was inspired by conversations he had in his own community, calling out the similarities between gang violence and the terrorism inflicted by the Ku Klux Klan.

By combining the iconography of the Ku Klux Klan, the Civil Rights Movement and all too familiar images of gang violence, Pate places the viewer inside the acts and the conversation, demanding their attention and reflection on the challenges, causes and insidious nature of violence. Kin Killin' Kin is curated by Willis Bing Davis. 

CHRC is a community partner and is actively involved in the planning of program initiatives in conjunction with the Kin Killin Kin exhibit.