Former Plantation Tries to Give a Fuller Picture of its History -Cleo Chaney

Original Article: https://www.npr.org/2018/12/09/672349672/a-former-plantation-begins-to-tell-a-fuller-story-of-slavery-in-america

The Monroe Plantation, once run by the 5th US president, and once occupied by 49 slaves, is a historic site surrounded by tourist attractions that has thousands of visitors each year. Tours, concerts, and even weddings are held there. This plantation, formally called Monroe’s Highland is advertised as just “the home of the fifth president,” and its tours gloss over its legacy of slavery.

George Monroe, a descendant of the slaves who labored on Monroe’s Highland has recently engaged the executive director of the site in trying to include the history of the slaves that worked there in tours and etc. They are involving other descendants of the 49 slaves, many who live in Monroetown, which freedmen from Monroe’s Highland formed after their emancipation.

I think it’s important to make sure the full history of a place, person, or event is told. The erasure of oppressed people’s experiences provide a one-sided view of history. When George Monroe was young, he thought he must have been related by blood to James Monroe, until his father revealed to him that his ancestors were slaves on the very plantation that remains today. Usually, the details of slavery are not explored because of how uncomfortable they can be, but it is just as important to acknowledge how black Americans succeeded against all odds in building communities wherever they were. It is very meaningful for people to be able to see where their ancestors were 150 years ago and how their labor, though overlooked, built the US.