Whitney plantation; stories of slavery 2019

an outstanding slavery plantation museum and fish supper in the Mississippi Delta Deanna and I drove out to the Whitney plantation museum where slave narratives, fact and experience are combined. The slave trade is documented with posters and the pope sanctioned the slave trade in 1474. The discovery of America opened up the possibilities for the slave trade. The narrative started with the forts in Ghana where the slaves transitted. The middle passage and slave auctions were shown There were hundreds of slaves on each plantation The degradation of being a female slave, the violence towards slaves, the civil war, the poverty of selves after emancipation were explored. The plantations neede free labour to run economically. Slave narratives had been captured by the federally organised writers programme in 1936. We were given a slave to identify with, I was a young girl. Our site guide was a young black woman with peroxide blonde hair and saw the Baptist chapel the centre of the plantation. We visited slave quarters and experienced the sugar refining process. We walked round the cramped kitchen. The owners lived in opulence with a two storey house and a walking area at the back. The plantation went down to the Mississippi river. The plantation owner was a childless woman who adopted a child. The slaves were dehumanised by being given just one name. Many babies died with malnutrition. There were two memorials, one to the lost children. The other one comprised pieces of black stone with lists of slave names interspersed with their stories and photos, a beautiful and moving memorial. Some of black women were photographed there. Deanna and I sat and absorbed the stories and experiencing the emotions they generated. The museum is very popular, with many guided tours. Deanna was moved and thought that all Louisiana children would understand their history better after visiting. It was one of the best museums I have visited with the powerful combination of stories and photos. I was glad to have read books about the slave trade,1 the underground railway2 and David Olusoga’s book, a about black Britons and seen the films “12 years a slave “and “Djano Unchained”. I have thought of the museum often since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in the USA. It is an important part of USA history. The past French colonisation of Louisiana is seen in the Catholic churches there. We explored the cemetery with tombs with many French names. We drove up and by the levee and across the Mississippi, with amazing views. The flat landscape reminds me of Holland, with fertile agricultural land. We had supper in a local fish place, sharing a large bowl of boiled shrimps, potatoes and mushrooms with spicy Cajun flavours. I need to practise peeling prawns. We had coffee and beignets, a New Orleans sweet at a branch of cafe du monde. I enjoyed being with Deanna, we share an international perspective and being single women. She enjoys to sharing her local knowledge on people’s lives. It was an excellent day. The museum is one of the best history ones I have visited. I enjoyed eating local food. 1. Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution Simon Schama, BBC Books 2005 2. Black and British. A Forgotten History. David Olusoga Macmillan 2016 3. The Underground Railroad. Colson Whitehead Doubleday 2016