Plantation museums marginalize slavery through narrative omission rather than overt bigotry

Evidence

The primary intent of such institutions is not to be racist, not to denigrate African Americans, not to deny the exploitation, the suffering, the resilience, the contributions. I doubt that the organizers of these sites, or those that fund them, would deny that these things occurred. It’s just that these issues are simply not part of this story. You may be part of the universe of this history, but our telescope is focused elsewhere. … But the content of the narrative is marginalization of the African American presence in Southern history in general, slavery in particular. This is accomplished not by outright bigotry, or by simple lies; rather it is achieved via distoritions and exaggerations, silences and erasures. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1897

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: how historical sites ‘erase’ contested pasts not by lying but by the quieter mechanism of simply not telling the other side of the story — a lens applicable to many national memorial sites.
• XREF: Connects to Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s ‘Silencing the Past’ on silences in historical production. — connects to: National museums omit annihilated groups, erasing their claim to the nation — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 135