Telling a similar story of the Middle Passage is the work of the late Houston artist Floyd Newsum Jr., called MAAFA. This title comes from the Kiswahili word that means “great disaster” or “tragedy” to describe the atrocities that happened during the transatlantic slave trade and its ongoing effects on descendants. Newsum’s MAAFA was one of seven works acquired from the NJM’s first art exhibition, Declarations of Freedom, which was co-curated by Dr. Lauren Cross, executive strategist and curatorial consultant, and Christopher Blay, director of public programs.