|
|
 |
Dr. Vonita Foster, Ph. D.
Executive Director |
The U.S. National Slavery Museum is the only museum in America among more than 16,000 that has as its primary mission education, re-education and policy formation regarding slavery in America and its enduring legacy. This critical void is being filled by the U.S. National Slavery Museum and the process will culminate in our public opening. The roots and lasting impact of the institution of slavery from its beginning in the 17th century was an everyday part of life in the United States and its legacy continues to influence and shape America. Moreover, it was during this time that the economic, political and social foundations of America were established. It was during this time that the rigidity of race relationships was established. It was also during this time that many survived and triumphed. The U.S. National Slavery Museum will be a place where these voices and stories finally get to be heard and told loud and clear. At long last slavery will be placed in its proper role in the history of the United States of America. Noted historian Eric Foner speaks to this need in his book Who Owns History?: Rethinking the Past in a Changing World:
"A large void still exists when it comes to slavery. To be sure, communities throughout the North have taken steps to identify and commemorate sites associated with the Underground Railroad. Visitors to the nation's capital, however, will find a national museum devoted to the Holocaust, funded annually with millions of taxpayer dollars, but almost nothing related to slavery. Tours of historic plantations in the South still largely sugarcoat the slave experience. Of the hundreds of Civil War monuments North and South, only a handful depict the 200,000 African Americans who fought for the Union. Liverpool and Nantes, two European ports whose wealth derived from the slave trade, have hosted museum exhibits candidly depicting the role of slavery in their growth. No such exhibition has ever been mounted in New York City, which grew rich in the early nineteenth century marketing the products of slave labor."
The creation of the Museum will present the complete heretofore untold story of slavery in America.
Executive Director U.S. National Slavery Museum
|
|
|
|
|
