An Infrastructure of Silence was conceived in 2017 when I began to ask different questions about my cultural heritage of white supremacy and privilege. During this time, I revisited boxes of family documents connecting my ancestry from England to the planter elite that held political power in Colonial Virginia. The bins contain diaries, generational photographs, and documents confirming male ancestors as militiamen and Indian fighters, politicians, and large plantation owners. I also found several wills, leaving enslaved people to the next generation of enslavers. My research developed into a collection of artwork that uncovers family descendants who were complicit in Indigenous genocide, enslavement, and systems of white supremacy that are woven into the political and social fabric of our country. 

Having spent most of my life in affluent, segregated spaces, I was shielded from the harsh realities of racism that affect the lives of Black, Indigenous, and other racially discriminated people. An Infrastructure of Silence is a call to action for my white community. It urges us to critically examine our privilege, its role in perpetuating disparities, and how our actions and beliefs intersect with race, class, and gender. Engaging with this artwork empowers us to challenge these systems and question our complicity in their preservation. The goal is not assigning blame but encouraging us to closely examine U.S. laws, policies, mistakes, ideologies, and abuses. It invites us to imagine new possibilities and understandings of our past and present, sparking a much-needed dialogue about racism in the United States.

Anti-racist conversations within the white community are more important than ever as we strive to improve conversations about race, racism, and racial justice in the country.