A new exhibition at the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History seeks to rewrite the narrative of Black womanhood by reclaiming the idea of softness. Softness Was Always Ours, curated by project archivist Jami Adkins Murphy, opens this week with a public debut on Thursday, Sept. 18.
The exhibition draws heavily from the Ellie Lee Weems Photographic Negatives Collection (1928–1978), featuring over 100 digitized photographs, mounted prints, books, record covers, and rare periodicals. The images span five decades, capturing Black women and girls in moments of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
“Black women are often stereotyped as angry, bitter, or unprofessional, but history shows us the exact opposite,” Murphy said. “These images show Black women in moments of resilience, elegance, and joy. I wanted to lift that up at a time when so many are feeling exhausted or unseen.”
This exhibit comes at a time when Black women are being pushed out of the workforce after a reported job loss of 300,000, as reported by Forbes. The pressures of systemic bias, burnout, and constant expectations of strength have left many without the space to rest or be vulnerable.
Library administrator Victor E. Simmons Jr. described the project as a collective effort to transform the library’s second-floor gallery into a space dedicated to in-house exhibitions. “We wanted to highlight Black women not only as strong, but also as soft, caring, and loving, parts of their lives rarely celebrated in media,” Simmons said. He noted that while mainstream portrayals often reduce Black women to stereotypes of toughness, the exhibition’s images, from mothers at cotillions to women captured in moments of quiet study, reveal tenderness and dignity as just as central to their stories. For Simmons, the show is not only about countering negative imagery, but also about honoring the fullness of Black family and community life, echoing memories of his own upbringing.
Beyond the photographs, Softness Was Always Ours highlights how cultural institutions and publications affirmed Black womanhood when mainstream outlets did not. A panel on Black print media features covers and spreads from magazines such as Ebony, Jet, Hue, Color, and Candid. From the late 1930s through the 1970s, these periodicals placed Black women at the center, celebrating their beauty, grace, and style during a time when such representation was rare.
“These magazines created space for glamour and tenderness,” Murphy said. “They showed young Black girls that refinement and admiration were not reserved for others; they were always ours.”
Another section of the exhibition focuses on the Utopian Literary Club, founded in Atlanta in 1916. Composed of professors, attorneys, scientists, and businesswomen, members met to engage with scholarly literature, the arts, and philanthropy.
“The Utopian Literary Club represents an important message,” Murphy said. “Being academic doesn’t mean you lack softness, and being soft doesn’t mean you lack intellect.”
Artifacts from the club, including photographs, papers, and ephemera, highlight a tradition of elegance and intellectual fire that shaped Atlanta’s cultural life.
Murphy emphasized that the exhibition challenges one-dimensional portrayals of Black women in popular culture. “If all people know of Black women is the erotic side, they miss out on the elegance, the glamour, the grace, and the culture,” she said. By presenting images that range from swimsuits to evening gowns, opera dresses, military and band uniforms, and even fur coats, Softness Was Always Ours aims to show that Black women are never just one thing; they embody complexity, versatility, and dignity across every facet of life.
Murphy said she hopes visitors leave with a renewed sense of affirmation. “I want people to take away that Black women are beautiful, that Black women are loved, that Black women have value, and that Black women are worthy of joy.”
Softness Was Always Ours opens with a public reception on Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Auburn Avenue Research Library’s second-floor gallery.
