the deep south
We continued in new territory for me as we made our way roughly along the Gulf Coast, going through Alabama, Mississippi, and into Louisiana. We decided to spend some time exploring a few plantations. This was not a decision we took lightly. We did not want to glorify or honor our countries past that involved the capturing, kidnapping, and enslavement of a people to support an economy and way of life. But it was a part of our history and it is always better to look squarely at and learn from the past than it is to ignore it and try to pretend it never existed.
So, along with a taste of the coastal areas, beautiful sunsets and some excellent seafood we headed to a couple of plantations, not sure what we would find.
On to pics:
Our stop in Alabama was at a state park on Mobile Bay. A heron was hanging out looking for a bite …
but he decided his best chance at potential snacks was elsewhere and so, off he went.
We had Martin's birthday dinner at an oyster house not far from the campground. The views were spectacular.
Sunset over Mobile Bay, Alabama
On to the plantations. Oak Alley Plantation, Louisiana. This was a “grand” plantation of the antebellum era with this gorgeous “alley” of giant old oak trees (think Tara and Twelve Oaks of "Gone with the Wind"). Just past the end of the oak trees was the levee and on the other side of the levee, the mighty Mississippi River. This pic was taken from the second story veranda which wrapped around the house.
We weren't allowed to take pics inside the main house, so I only have exterior shots.
a view looking back up at the “big” house
The trees were spectacular.
covered in moss and ferns. The ferns, resurrection ferns, are an air plant. As long as it is rainy and humid they happily grow on the corky bark of the oak trees, but when it becomes too dry or too hot they dry up, turning brown and appearing dead. But, as soon as it rains again, they spring back to life turning green and verdant. Hence the common name, resurrection fern.
A view of the house from a side.
Slave quarters. A series of cabins that were originally over a mile from the house, but were moved closer for this exhibit. In reality slave cabins were never too close to the main house.
slaves cooked their meals in big kettles over open fires.
some interior shots.
I found this sign particularly astonishing and insightful regarding the political positions the Southern states found themselves in by 1860.
It lists, by state, the number of free persons, the number of slaves, the total population (and for those of us who have only a "passing acquaintance" with numbers... you know who you are 😁) the percentage of slaves to total population. Two states were more than 50% slaves, four more had between 40-50%, three more between 30-40%, and two more in the 20%s. That's 11 states with a range greater than 50% to 20% of the vote no longer being controlled by the current political group(s) in power. Ethics and morals of slavery aside, they had backed themselves into a pretty unresolvable situation.
Unrelated, but something that I found of interest was on another sign in the educational portion of the slave quarters. It was about the wearing of Tignons by free colored women. Louisiana had freed people of color living in the territory, particularly in and around New Orleans, (Creoles). In 1785 the Spanish governor decreed that all colored free women must wear a tignon, a piece of material wrapped around a woman's head, to clearly differentiate them, particularly the light skinned Creoles, from "polite" (ie. white) society. It made me think of the yellow star the Jewish people were forced to wear on their clothing to differentiate themselves in the WWII era.
The Whitney Plantation (Whitney Institute ) The Whitney Plantation was originally started by a German family in 1752 for the production of the dye, indigo, and then they tried rice, but primarily the main crop was the dangerous and labor intensive production of “sugar”. Another notable fact about this plantation is that it was actively farmed by sharecroppers until 1975. It now serves as a museum, a repository, a space to share the history and legacies of slavery in the Southern United States. It was an incredibly moving and horrifying, joyful and frightening, shameful, humbling and informative experience. Any and everyone who is in southern Louisiana should make an effort to see it.
It is hard to imagine that up until 1975, (1975!) sharecroppers were still working the land. Black families were still working the plantation and just a few years prior to that, 1969, they were in debt to the plantation store. Plantation workers could buy on “credit” from the plantation store, food, clothing, medicine, cigarettes, lunches, all at inflated prices and the cost of the goods were deducted from their paychecks. Or they were paid with “credit” that could only be used at the plantation store. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this was happening in the ‘70s.
Outbuildings where slaves worked
the kitchens
the front of the big house
the back of the big house
slave holding, transport and punishment containers
slave quarters. Enslaved families lived together until separated by death, escape or the slave trader.
More slave quarter pics. The large iron kettles were used in the “sugar” making process, the boiling and refining of sugarcane to sugar crystals.
The challenges of trying to trace one's genealogy as an African American are tremendous. It is practically impossible for most who have their ancestral roots in slavery to make it through those initial generations on this continent, which in some cases stretched to centuries, of enslavement. During this time period, few, if any, records were kept and those that were had scant identifying information. Even fewer had information about where in Africa their ancestors had originated. I realized this and understood this empirically. I am appalled and embarrassed that I never really thought about or understood what that meant, what it means to a person, to a whole people not to be able to trace their roots, to know where they came from and what traditions are truly theirs. One of the most meaningful displays at the Whitney was a series of memorial plaques recording whatever demographic knowledge is available for each enslaved person. This was a massive undertaking. It records the names of over 107,000 people who were enslaved in Louisiana from 1719, the year the first slave ships arrived in the colony, to 1820. That's approximately 1,000 people entered into enslavement for one hundred years in a row in one colony. Interspersed in the names are quotes from some of the enslaved themselves about their lives.. Some of the entries have a first and last name, approximate age, country of origin and family. Some of the entries have one or two of those items and some don't even have a name, just boy or girl or some other descriptor. It's pretty horrifying to consider what we as human beings have done to each other. I just hope and pray that we have and will continue to learn from this inhumane behavior.
black angel providing protection and solace to all the children who died before turning the age of three.
The Whitney Plantation also has the Antioch Baptist Church building, formerly known as the Anti-Yoke Baptist Congregation, which was built by freedmen in Paulina, LA. It has several life-size terracotta statues by Woodrow Nash, “the slave children of Whitney”.
I felt so fortunate to have had the opportunity to see and witness and experience these places and emotions.
Next stop: New Orleans for Mardi Gras!
Comments
Post a Comment