The Problem With “It sounds better…”
“It sounds better coming from an African American.” I keep hearing this statement in reference to who should tell visitors the story of slavery at sites that do not do first person interpretation. Let...
Category: slavery
“All of Us Would Walk Together”
I have had just about the best experience working with the sites in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. Most of my work has been with Historic St. Mary’s City, but what I have done absolutely...
Honoring those of the Middle Passage
I have always been impressed with Historic Sotterley’s narrative of enslaved life. They don’t shy away from it and you know for me that’s essential. When I toured the site back in March,...
Discovering the Dark Side of Jefferson
Hopefully by now, many of you have read this excerpt from Henry Wiencek from his upcoming book, Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves. ...
Thoughts on the Emancipation Proclamation
On Sept 22nd, many commemorated the 150th anniversary of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. My twitter buddy @SlaveryDatabase participated in an event that celebrated the crossing of the Rappahannock River. In 1862, slaves crossed this river...
Eugene Genovese
This week we lost a giant. Eugene Genovese died on Sept 26 after a long illness. I don’t have any long and amazing stories to share about him, but what I do know is...
For Teachers pt 2
Okay I’m back at it. Teachers, and really anybody else looking for more resources, I’ve started a page dedicated to books, websites, suggested readings, whatever…for you to utilize. A lot of the websites have...
For Teachers pt 1
It’s that time of year when schools starts again (although I know a lot of schools are already in session) which means that there will be lessons on slavery and the occasional field trip...
Cross Post from Interpretive Challenges
Every now and then I cross post when something really strikes my eye. My homie in historical goodness Emmanuel Dabney with the National Parks Service also blogs about our challenges to tell the story...
