The Kinsey Collection, a highly esteemed exhibit of African-American art and history, presented by Bernard and Khalil Kinsey on Feb. 3 in the USU ballroom.

Founders and owners of the collection, Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, have devoted their careers to acquiring and preserving collections of African-American art that spans about 500 years in history.

Khalil Kinsey, the son of Bernard and Shirley, is the Chief Operating Officer for the collection and joined Bernard in the presentation.

According to the informational pamphlets, The Kinsey Collection primarily sets out to use its array of historic African-American artifacts to, “…bring a new understanding to the issues of equity and access in our school communities.”

The Kinseys displayed and gave commentary on works connected to various African-American inventors, entrepreneurs and activists, and they urged attendees to contemplate how the collection can connect to modern day civics and culture within the United States.

For instance, Kinsey presented Gayle Hubbard’s “First Vote,” a watercolor illustration of African-American men standing in line to exercise their newly-earned right to vote in 1867.

After presenting this work, attendees were encouraged to think about theoretical questions of equity such as, “How would you feel if your classmates could vote, but you couldn’t based on one of your physical characteristics?” or, “How do you decide who you will vote for, and what or who might influence your decision?”

The Kinseys successfully used their diverse collection to make attendees think critically about the parallels between African-American culture and current issues regarding political and social equality.