Simon Lewis, associate professor of English at the College of Charleston, recently published a thoughtful essay in the Post and Courier on the valuable role that historic sites can play in the interpretation of slavery and offers “all of us a way toward mutual understanding and reconciliation.” He was prompted to write the essay in response to the recent installation of a memorial bench on Sullivan’s Island—the single most important point of entry into North America for enslaved Africans in the 18th century.
As Lewis noted, “In fact, what motivates the coalition of historic site administrators, and national, state, county and city tourism officials is concern for comprehensive public programming. They recognize that the graciousness of the big house cannot be separated from the history of slavery, and that if we are to continue to promote the complete plantation experience, we have to be frank about the plantations’ dependence on slavery.
“Such frankness does not come easily. Here in the Lowcountry, the difficulty is especially sensitive and complicated because of race. How can one celebrate Charleston’s historic buildings and landscape in a way that respects the suffering and absence of freedom of the enslaved without polarizing racial divisions?”
We’re honored that he mentions the Connections program at Drayton Hall, a National Trust Historic Site in Charleston, as a model program. If you’re interested in learning more about the various approaches for interpreting slavery at historic sites (the good and bad), you’ll want to read Representations of Slavery: Race and Ideology in Southern Plantation Museums by Jennifer Eichstedt and Stephen Small.
