i know, i haven't been posting. i created this blog for a number of reasons. one of them was to have a welcome distraction from my school work. it turns out, i have had more 'welcome distractions' than i have had time for lately. here's hoping that with the fast approaching end of my masters (oh wow), i will again feel highly committed to my blog! and, you know, find a job or something...
since the title for my blog comes from the haggadah, i felt that i really should sit down and get some thoughts out during passover. so here goes! (forgive me if i'm rusty).
the other night when i was making dinner and listening to this american life, i learned about the conner prairie interactive history park in indiana. they bring history to life! they have a special event called: follow the north star. guess what that re-imagines? well, according to their website, during the 'follow the north star' event, you get to "become a fugitive slave on the Underground Railroad, fleeing from captivity, risking everything for freedom". that's right, with a simple payment of $20 for non-members and $17 for members (yeah, they have members), you too can experience slavery.
there are innumerable problems with this interpretation of a 'history' lesson. i mean, people are paying money to re-enact slavery. they are re-imagining slavery. just let that sink in for another moment.
since there is no way i could present an exhaustive list of all the issues with 'follow the north star', i'm going to raise two that strike me as particularly salient. one, this is not what slavery was like. conner prairie boasts authenticity due to extensive research. it seems, however, that they are forgetting one highly distinguishing characteristic - slavery was not a choice. when teachers bring a school group to participate in follow the north star, the kids come away believing they now know what slavery was like. this is a quote from an eighth grader pulled from one of the testimonials one their website: "'Follow the North Star' puts you in their place". however, they all got permission slips signed. they elected to go. they were probably excited for their field trip. i hope we're all on the same page here. creating the opportunity for a bunch of americans (mostly white americans) to believe they understand what it felt like to be a slave works toward erasing the experience of actual slaves and the complicated legacy slavery left in the states.
two, 're-enacting' slavery firmly establishes it as something of the past. school groups can go and learn about how mean white people were to black 'way back when'. it's as if all of these 'bad' things (as in, racist and violent attitudes and behaviours) happened back then and are a part of 'history' not present day. teaching slavery in an old-timey fashion without concurrently locating everything within a post-colonial context really just seems to re/produce a post-racial attitude.
like i said, these certainly are not the only problems with 'follow the north star'. also, 'follow the north star' is not the only event at conner prairie interactive history park! check out their website for more rousing trips you could go on: http://www.connerprairie.org. or, consider having your wedding on the prairie!
i'm interested to hear what other people think about this 'history' park. what strikes you?
also, check out the episode of this american life in which they visit it: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/120/be-careful-who-you-pretend-to-be
