Two weekends
ago, one of the curators of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture graciously
sent me a ticket to see the museum. I
was in Washington DC for a conference and assumed that it would be impossible to get
tickets on short notice. Ever since
the opening of the museum in September
of 2016, it has been a sold out affair.
In fact, for months, it was reported that it was impossible to get
tickets and that the lines were very always very long.
I considered
it particularly good fortune that this was the weekend of the record cold
temperatures along the North and South Coast and one of the museum’s curators,
Mary Elliott, was attending the same conference.
And so it
was that I toured at least one full floor of the museum which has five
floors. I toured the floor on
Slavery and Freedom. In a word, it was
excellent.
The exhibits
told multiple stories starting first with the Atlantic Slave trade and then the
development of slavery in North America.
Much care was taken to showcase incredible artifacts from all over the
country like an auction block and notices regarding the sale of slaves.
Next to the
block there was THE WEEPING TIME in bold letters and a caption describing the
domestic slave trade—where the enslaved were sold from one plantation to
another with little regard to family ties. In the end, that was what was so significant
about this exhibit: the perspective of the enslaved was captured. “Ashley’s Sack”was displayed with the explanation
that it was items like these that enslaved family members shared with each other
upon parting. They took with them a
lock of hair, a swath of clothing… mementos that they undoubtedly held dear.
Images courtesy of David Gutierrez (wikimedia commons)
Equally
moving were the descriptions of African American culture including expressions
of music and faith. Original items like
fiddles and banjos (an instrument originating from Africa) were on display as
was an actual slave cabin that had been transplanted to the museum.
But this was
not just a story about slavery but also a story of the pursuit of freedom. Every effort was made to capture the stories
of slaves who escaped from slavery,
fought for their freedom in the Civil War and who attempted to piece their lives back
together during Reconstruction.
Ironically,
the National African American Museum has an almost ideal location – almost
exactly opposite from the White House and stands as a reminder that that very
house was built by slaves; that the nation itself benefitted greatly from their
contributions and the contributions of their descendants.
Hats off to
the curators like Mary Elliott and others who did a masterful job in telling
this complex and ongoing story. Hats
off to the sponsors – corporate and governmental- who made this dream a
reality. May the crowds keep pouring in as they are from far and near. May they leave this place with new understanding
and a commitment and interest in freedom for all.
Anne C. Bailey
Author of The Weeping Time: Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History, (Cambridge University Press, 2017)
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Travel CHANNEL NEWS
Sunday, January 21 at 11am
Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7pm
Anne Bailey
returns to Mysteries of the Museum on
the Travel Channel with the story of the Osage investigation- a remarkable
story of what happened to a Native American group who enjoyed great wealth in
the 1920’s due to discovery of oil wells on their land.
http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/mysteries-at-the-museum/episodes/sergeant-bill-goat-hero-gilded-grudge-and-osage-investigation
See also
a great book on this story:
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