ANN ARBOR—Not far from Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is the small town of Eatonville, incorporated by African Americans in 1887 during Reconstruction. The contrast is stark and revealing: the virtual world of high-tech animation that attracts millions of tourists is merely a short drive from a town of approximately 2,500 residents whose culture is rooted in centuries-old folklore and social struggles.

Through the compelling photography of Dawoud Bey, Lonnie Graham, Carrie Mae Weems and Deborah Willis, the story of the town comes alive. In “Embracing Eatonville,” viewers will find a dramatic perspective of present-day Eatonville and the place captured in literature by its most famous resident, writer Zora Neale Hurston.

The story of Eatonville is a layered exploration of race, identity, and culture?especially timely during Black History Month. Eatonville was one of the first African American communities formed after the Emancipation Proclamation, and the oldest black incorporated town in the U.S.

The exhibition, which runs through March 18 at the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s temporary exhibition space, UMMA Off/Site, offers a lesson in American history and insight into contemporary African American communities, where the role of women has grown in power and influence. The museum asked U-M women’s studies professors Naomi Andr