FLOAT

On July 27, 2019, Jefferson Pinder, interim dean of faculty and vice president of academic affairs, realized a meditative performance called FLOAT in Lake Michigan to honor Eugene Williams. Williams, a Black teenager, was killed in 1919, after his raft accidentally drifted into an area designated for White bathers. One hundred years later, participants in black inner tubes floated quietly at the same beach to remember Williams and to consider the racial divides that continue to affect our communities. Pinder’s performance is a visual reminder of the past, intended to spark conversations about injustice and inspire change for the future.