Plantation museums center objects and erase enslaved people from their narratives.

Evidence

The key images presented are of homes and furniture and splendor. When guides mention humans, whites are described in (extensive) details; blacks are passed over in a perfunctory manner, except perhaps in the case of “faithful old servants” about whom cursory details are provided, and the enslaved person is deployed to highlight the generosity and magnanimity of the master-enslaver. Thus, we are told, Alexander Stephen’s bondspersons said that “if they had to be slaves they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than with Mr. Stephens.” Or, where enslaved persons were allowed to stay on a plantation after the Civil War, they were welcomed with open-handed, openhearted warmth. It is the impressive Southern hospitality which accompanies the impressive structures. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1896

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Saidiya Hartman and Toni Morrison’s critique of how slavery is rendered through the master’s perspective. — connects to: National museums omit annihilated groups, erasing their claim to the nation — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 135