Deb Fuller wrote:
>
> At 04:10 PM 2/19/98 -0600, you wrote:
>
> >Didn't get in on the beginning of this but if the original was an
> >inquiry into the ways others label for children, you might want to look
> >at the "Children's Level" labeling in our Austin Colony exhibit.  What
> >won't be apparent from the web presentation is that these label are
> >monted about three feet from the floor on slant boards.
>
> At the Women's Memorial at Arlington Cemetary, we didn't plan it this way
> but our "Reader rails" that have medals, documents and explainations of
> what is in the exhibit case are the perfect height for children.  I led a
> group of Brownies and Juniors through the Memorial and the kids paid little
> attention to what was right in front of their faces in the cases but were
> facinated by the things on the rails.  I think they are about 3  feet off
> the ground as well.
>
> >Before we proceeded to install these we passed them buy a child
> >psycholigist from Children's Protective Services next door to advise on
> >their appropriatness (some subject matter dealt with slaves and native
> >Americans and might have been demeaning).  She approved all but one.
>
> I don't mean to sound crass, but the subject of slavery is inherently
> demeaning.  I would think that any exhibit that includes the subject would
> show this in order to educate people on how awful the conditions were and
> why it should never be repeated.  How can you have an exhibit with slavery
> without that?
>
> Deb Fuller

It wasn't the subject itself that was demeaning, it was how it was
treated.  This particular item included a demeaning reference to African
Americans.  We felt it was not necessary to include it.

I agree with your position in general.  We are in the conceptual stages
of developing a major interpretive center here that will, hopefully,
include a working sugar plantation (small) with slaves. Slavery is a
very sensitive issue here.  Brazoria County had the highest ratio of
Slave to Anglo population of any place in the deep south on the eve of
the Civil War.  A good number of those slaves had been imported
illegally by some of Texas' more famous "patriots" like Jim Bowie and
James Fannin, indirectly from Africa through Cuba right up until the
Civil War.  Therefore, many of our African-American residents are but a
few generations removed from their African roots and the slave
experience (unlike their brethren in places like North Carolina). They
do not take quickly to our invitations to participate in our annual
re-enactment festival as slaves.

Nor is the Anglo population really excited about a slave interpretive
site.  They want to forget the whole period.

My approach reflects your attitude and the philosophy behind the several
Holocaust museums here and in Israel.  I don't want anyone to ever
forget what we did to these human beings.  That will be the message at
the site and the philosophy I will defend when confronted by locals who
will, I am certain, be opposed to the project.
--
Bob Handy, Director
Brazoria County Historical Museum
Angleton, Texas
http://www.bchm.org