Decentralized History | How “The Obsidian Collection” is Using NFTs to Illustrate the African American Experience
The Consumer blockchain presents so many opportunities outside of the traditional cartoon PFP NFT collection.
I think tokenized cultural and historical artifacts have the potential to thrive in the Metaverse.
There’s an opportunity to reeducate the world on the experiences of marginalized communities in this country. It’s no secret that throughout United States history, the cultural and historical narrative has been crafted by the dominant race and gender class – AKA white males.
Decentralization offers an opportunity not only to correct the narrative, but also to provide ownership and wealth through the buying and selling of digital assets.
They’re a virtual portal for African American Culture providing access to material of historical, artistic, and cultural significance. They plan to use their vast catalog of photographs to turn historical moments into NFs and curate galleries in the Metaverse.
Obsidian’s first collection was released on Juneteenth. It consists of rare photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement of 1966 which rallied against prejudicial housing practices, poor education, transportation and numerous other issues stemming from institutional racism.
The photographs were taken by legendary Photographer, John Tweedle.
In a Vogue Article, Obsidian’s founder Angela Ford emphasized the importance of humanizing this history. She hopes Obsidian becomes an “authentic voice of authentic history.”
The MLK Collection is currently on auction through the Web3 platform, LOBUS.
I absolutely love that Obsidian is harnessing the power of Web3 to accurately capture and publish African American history.
I’m so excited for the future of decentralized historical education, OR as I like to call it…
Brendan Bald 