The Last Word: Rodney Hawkins on the History Behind 'The Mount Experience' Visual and VR Exhibition at AT&T's HQ - dallasinnovates.com

Historic Old Mount Gillion Cemetery successful East Texas. [Photo: Kwesi Yanful]

Rodney Hawkins
Founder
Tiny Hawk Productions
…on helping to reconstruct the Old Mount Gillion African-American cemetery successful East Texas, the taxable of a ocular and AR accumulation coming to Dallas’ AT&T Discovery District. 

Efforts to reconstruct Black cemeteries and burial sites are expanding crossed the country—and present the unveiling of a buried past heavy successful East Texas’s Piney Woods is the taxable of an immersive ocular and AR accumulation opening this play successful Dallas’ AT&T Discovery District.

Hawkins, a erstwhile CBS News producer, explored his ain practice connected astir 100 acres of family-owned onshore successful East Texas. In 2020, helium began an effort to reconstruct the astir 200-year-old overgrown Old Mount Gillion Cemetery that borders his family’s acreage. The restoration was chronicled successful a three-part bid betwixt 2020 and 2022 connected CBS Mornings with Hawkins reporting connected location.

Now the cemetery’s rebirth is the instauration for a new, immersive acquisition making its debut this MLK Day Weekend successful concern with the AT&T Discovery District. “The Mount Experience” accumulation aims to uncover America’s buried past done a operation of photography, augmented reality, audio recordings, and ocular installations created by Black Dallas artists.

“This task started arsenic a mode to not lone research this nation’s achy past, but besides reclaim my family’s legacy,” Hawkins said successful a statement. “I tin hint my familial roots successful Texas each the mode backmost to the 1800s, but that’s a privilege that astir Black Americans don’t person owed to the destructive effects caused by slavery. It’s truthful important that our ancestors are honored, truthful it seemed fitting to motorboat this acquisition connected a play that commemorates our past done the representation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

“The Mount Experience” which volition beryllium unfastened escaped to the nationalist this Saturday, January 14, and proceed 7 days a week done February 21 successful the lobby of the AT&T office astatine 208 S. Akard Street successful downtown Dallas. The pop-up accumulation is produced by Hawkins’ Tiny Hawk Productions successful collaboration with AT&T and Samsung, and volition service arsenic this season’s AT&T Showcase portion helping to grant Black History Month.

In addition, a virtual sheet called “Connecting Your Roots to Find Your Voice” volition beryllium held connected February 16, featuring Hawkins Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, and Michelle Jordan, AT&T’s main diverseness officer, on with Mary Elliot of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Also, 3 emerging Black Dallas-based storytellers and artists volition beryllium featured successful a Mount Black Art Pop-Up February 16-19, with details to beryllium announced astatine a aboriginal date.

For much of who said what astir each things North Texas, check retired Every Last Word.

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