Michigan college library uses racist memorabilia to teach the history of Jim Crow

A Michigan college is home to what may be the largest collection of racist memorabilia in the United States.

Ferris State University sociology professor David Pilgrim founded the Jim Crow Museum to show the link between racist caricatures from minstrel shows to Aunt Jemima that helped reinforce laws and customs supporting racial segregation, reported KJRH-TV.

“We bring people together who have different perspectives," Pilgrim said. "One group of people look at this and think these are the vestiges of enslavement and Jim Crow, and some others look at it and think this just reminds me of good times that I spent with my grandparents.”

The museum is located in the basement of the university library in Big Rapids, and Pilgrim said he hopes the collection -- which he began as a teenager and can be viewed in a virtual tour online -- will show how those racist stereotypes perpetuated white supremacy.

“The purpose of studying the past is to have a better understanding of the past and then we can do stuff when we have that nuanced understanding, but it’s not to make you feel better, not to make you feel worse either," Pilgrim said. "It's to teach and learn what really happened.”