My Visit to the Whitney Plantation

WHITNEY PLANTATION, Edgar, LA.

There’s a saying that history does not repeat itself but it rhymes. After seeing the presidential election results this past week and reflecting on our nation’s history, I thought it would be fitting to share my experience visiting the Whitney Plantation a little over a week ago as part of my trip to New Orleans. 

The plantation, which currently serves as a museum, stands as a powerful reminder of our nation’s history and the inhumane and brutal treatment of enslaved Africans who built this country. It reminded me of the strength and resilience of my ancestors who endured unspeakable traumas yet continued to fight to secure their liberation. 

As a student of history and of the law, it appears to me that we often take for granted the abolition of slavery and the adoption of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, which, collectively, ended slavery, guaranteed citizenship to Black Americans, and expanded the right to vote to Black men. Yet, the institution of chattel slavery existed in this country for well over 200 years and was upheld by our laws and many religious institutions. I can only imagine how daunting it must have been to my ancestors who fought for generations to overturn that system. However, as the plantation’s memorial for the 1811 German Coast Slave Revolt illustrates, Black people fought to liberate themselves and abolish the institution of slavery at every turn. 

I hope that this video and reflection will allow us to collectively remember this history and continue to examine all the ways it presently affects our society. Until we speak and honor these truths, and work toward repairing the generational trauma that enslavement and the Jim Crow era inflicted, we, as a society, will not have healed from or learned from this devastating chapter.

Below are a few descriptions of the things seen in the video:

A sculpture called Returning the Chains: A sculpture that depicts a hand grasping a chain link that is stuck in the ground 

Sculpted heads: Replicas of the heads of 60 men who were beheaded for their role in the 1811 slave revolt

A Wall of Honor: A wall with the names of the enslaved people who worked at Whitney, along with first-person accounts of their experiences 

A Field of Angels: A monument that honors the 2,200 enslaved infants who died before their second birthday.