Duke Beyond Borders
This exhibit has been curated by Beyond Borders, a student organization at Duke with the mission of advocating for justice for immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers in the United States. Our exhibit has been organized and revealed as part of Beyond Borders' annual Migration Awareness Week, a period of education and celebration for all of the vibrancy and resilience that (im)migrants embody, bring, and carry to and within the US.
The exhibit's theme, ROOTED // RISING, reflects how our roots run both across and beyond national borders. For many of us, they are lodged in both the US and another place/s. Roots run deep, entangle and intertwine; they adapt to their surroundings, build strength, and absorb the nutrients they can find.
With this exhibit, contributors reflect on the multiple meanings of roots and rootedness, as well as how we practice resilience and rise both despite and because of ongoing attacks on our immigrant communities, identities, and livelihoods in the US.
We know that we are rooted and rightfully here. We fight back and climb, rise, and thrive in all the ways we can. We are here to stay, to give back to and care for all those who fought and sacrificed so we can reach high. We flower, we plant seeds. While state violence attempts to uproot the communities we belong to and love, we know that we are here, rooted, nonetheless.
