Slave Cemetery in Texas
Hello wonderful readers! Did any of you happen to see the story out of Texas about the slave cemetery that was revealed by the horrible drought they are having down there? As I read...
Category: slave life
Celebrating Juneteenth
Today at Brattonsville, we held our first ever Juneteenth Celebration. At first I had a few people come up to me and tell me we should do this because it had never been done...
Being the teacher in the moment
So the last post The Teachable Moments in Interpretation talks about how a visitor is brought into the experience of slave life through some powerful first person interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg. Now let’s look...
The teachable moments in interpretation
Thanks to Tom DeWolf, I saw that The Washington Post recently did a story on Colonial Williamsburg and its historic interpretation. The article was written by Rachel Manteuffel and it described her experience visiting...
Slave and Enslaved together
So in my mind, I’ve been thinking about this slave v. enslaved debate that is out there and I’m thinking they can be used both interchangeably. In reading Emily West’s Chains of Love: Slave...
What’s in a name?
“Are you a slave?” This is probably the number one question I get asked by students who come out and visit on a field trip. Because I am talking about, and dressed like a...
Telling the Story
Hey ya’ll! Before we continue on, I just wanted to say hello to those readers who are students of Dr. Meringolo! Hope this is something that you are finding useful with your assignment! Now…let’s...
So, who are you today?
If there’s one question that makes me uncomfortable while interpreting slave life, I would have to say, it’s “So, who are you?” Like most people, I respond with my name. But they don’t want...
What a difference a day makes (or two or three)
Wow! So I’ve had this blog for a few years, and I’ve just recently moved it to its own domain. I would tell a few people here and there about my blog and what...
Slavery: Let’s talk about it
The more I thought about what I do as an interpreter of slave life, the more I realized that the hardest thing for people to do is actually talk about slavery. What is it about this peculiar institution that makes people uneasy? Why is it so hard to talk about it?
