Echoes of American democracy reverberated through the halls of the Matheson History Museum on Saturday. From vintage campaign souvenirs to interactive displays, the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" exhibit brought national and local political heritage to life.
The exhibit, created in partnership with the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program, features two parts: the national perspective in the center of the room and the Alachua County perspective displayed on the walls.
A crowd of about 40 people gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m., which included remarks from Matheson History Museum Board President Robert Mounts, former Gainesville Mayor Jean Chalmers, Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim A. Barton and President of the League of Women Voters Gainesville Janice Garry.
“This exhibit really captures the history of our nation, and not only of voting, elections, human rights, women's rights, struggles that we've had in our country, but more importantly, the local exhibits from Alachua County,” Barton said.
The Alachua County portion of the exhibit was designed by Rick Kilby and curated by Matheson History Museum staff Willett Hancock, Kaitlyn Hof-Mahoney and Liam Shanley.
Hof-Mahoney, Matheson History Museum executive director, said the museum was selected by Florida Humanities as one of five venues to host the traveling exhibit.
“It was definitely a competitive application process,” she said.
The team of curators reviewed over 200 years of history, beginning with the earliest elections and extending through to the 2020 election.
“One of our primary goals with this exhibit is for people to become engaged and excited about democracy,” she said.
Kilby’s role was to match the visual material with the written material, selecting the photos he felt had the most impact and did the best job of telling the story.
“There are some very powerful images in this exhibit that could trigger people because of the power, but I think that's an important part of the story,” he said.
His goal was to have the local and national displays appear seamless.
“When you're back there, coming in the room, you can see the quotes on the Alachua County part over the Smithsonian's,” he said. “It felt incredibly affirming that their part matches our part.”
Walking into the exhibit, Barton didn’t know what to expect but remembers feeling overwhelmed and impressed by all the history. “It just gave me chills,” she said.
Archives from the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections office, including a segregated voter registration book from the 1930s, were featured in the exhibit.
Barton said the exhibit highlighted local history by featuring local families and figures like Cynthia Chestnut, Gainesville mayor pro-tempore.
Chestnut attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and admired the wall featuring her family.
“It's astounding to be a part of history and to see it. This is just overwhelming,” she said.
Wendy Kinser-Maxwell, retired Newberry principal planner, heard about the exhibit from a friend.
“I was quite intrigued, especially in this world that we're living in, and I thought I'd really like to come see it,” the 63-year-old said.
She became emotional viewing old pictures and newspaper clippings, recognizing much of the local history from her time working for Newberry, she said.
“It's reassuring that people felt motivated enough to create the exhibit, both the traveling exhibit and our local exhibit,” she said.
Jayne Hargrave, 65, admired the portions of the exhibit that featured protests.
“Not taking those things for granted and understanding the history and the concerns, I think, is really important,” she said.
The exhibit reminded Hargrave of her daughter and the civic values passed down to her.
“She's voted in every election. I'm very proud of her for that,” she said.
After hearing about the exhibit from the League of Women Voters, Megan Jenkins, a third-year English and political science major at the University of Florida, said she felt her passion for civic engagement drove her to attend.
“Coming out to this exhibit was kind of a culmination of many, many years of civic engagement and people fighting for their right to vote in democracy,” the 20-year-old said.
Jenkins has attended other exhibits at the Matheson History Museum, but felt the "Voices and Votes" exhibit was a “stop in your tracks moment,” she said.
She felt education was her biggest takeaway from the exhibit.
“I could probably be here for two hours just reading everything that's written in this room,” she said.
President of the Alachua County African and African American Historical Society Jacob U. Gordon echoed the education-centered sentiment.
“I hope students come here and just walk through to see and read and know more about Alachua County and the struggle for freedom,” he said.
During his speech, Mounts said the museum will have activities for children and free entry after 3 p.m.
The exhibit will run until Sept. 7.
“I just said, ‘Hallelujah. Fantastic. Something good is coming to Alachua County,’” Gordon said about discovering the exhibit.