Commercial tobacco has evolved over the years, from loose tobacco and regular cigarettes to menthols, chew, flavored cigars, orbs, and e-cigs, among many other products. One thing that hasn’t changed is the historic targeting and abuse of Black communities and others by the tobacco industry. It can be said that it’s the Same Game, just Different Smokers, and this story is coming to Kenosha.
The national exhibition, Same Game Different Smokers, is an exploration of the troubling 400+ year relationship between the tobacco industry and Black America. Developed and curated by artist and artivist Tracy Brown, the exhibit examines the connections between the Tobacco Industry’s role in the birth and evolution of slavery in America, targeted marketing through the decades, and the over promotion of menthol cigarettes and now e-cigarettes to African Americans, LGBTQ+, Latinx, youths and other groups.
