Day 50 - New Orleans: The Whitney Plantation

While we were at the Houmas House plantation, we saw a sign that was encouraging us to visit another plantation, where slaves' lives and history is presented in its entirety. It was the Whitney plantation.

I found on YouTube a video from CBS this morning that describes this place very well.

The Whitney plantation opened its doors as a museum in December 2014 (!!!?). 

A trial attorney from New Orleans, John Cummings, had bought the plantation with its 2000 acres, but after getting to know the history of the place, decided to dedicate the entire property to create this museum. He spent a total of 8 million dollars to research, transport historical buildings, commission sculptures, memorials and create buildings. He took him 15 years.

The director of research is a Senegalese scholar, Ibrahima Seck, who has done much work on the history of slavery and has written a book about this plantation, "Bouki Fait Gombo: A History of the Slave Community of Habitation Haydel (Whitney Plantation) Louisiana, 1750-1860"

The first location we visited was the Antioch church that had been built by slaves and whose name comes from the bible but also the sound of the words "anti-yoke".

Much of the information for the plantation exhibits and memorials came from the Federal Writers Project (part of the new deal WPA 1935 - 1943) in which journalists interviewed people who had been slaves. Since by that time the interviewees were older, their recollection was primarily from when they were children living in slavery.

Antioch Church

Clay sculptures of the children that lived here

At the start of the tour, our docent made it clear that the purpose of this place was not to make anyone feel guilty. It was here to remember those who suffered and did not have a voice.

All through the tour I felt a heavy heart. That's the best way I can describe it. I felt the same when my aunt took me to Mauthausen, a concentration camp in Austria. I think this feeling is brought up to anyone when the head and the heart cannot process such evil actions perpetrated by other human beings. We try to reason in ourselves what went on, and we cannot find a logic for such abominations.

Memorial to the victims with names and where they were born

Memorial to the children who died very young

Original cabins

Jail similar to that used in the slave market in New Orleans

Blacksmith

Big House kitchen

The plantation house

Sculpture in honor of the German Coast Uprising

Ibrahima Seck by the memorial to German Coast Uprising victims.

The visitor center had a museum showing the history of slavery from the very beginning to the end.

I did not know that Christopher Columbus was the first to start all this. I knew he had done terrible things to the natives, but I was oblivious to this little known fact. I can't believe we still have a day for him! 😒 

In the book store I bought the book written by Frederick Douglass "Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass". It is his autobiography and he wrote it in 1845. I read it to Bill while driving. At one point in the story I had to skip ahead because I couldn't stomach it.