Week 4: Horton
I’d like to point to three quotes from Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American Memory edited by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton to demonstrate one of the recurring arguments made by the volume of essays. First is John Michael Vlach’s assertion from his conclusion to ‘The Last Great Taboo Subject’ that black Americans are “hungry for memory” (p. 71). In his discussion of the Library of Congress’ aborted attempt to present the ‘Back of the Big House’ exhibit, Vlach gives many instances where black Americans voiced a desire to learn more about the ‘onerous and taboo aspects’ of slavery to allow them to ‘learn and to endure’ (p. 72).
The second quote comes from Gary B. Nash’s essay, ‘For Whom Will the Liberty Bell Toll?’ In his conclusion, Nash quotes Kenneth Moynihan who asserts that history is “an ongoing conversation that yields not final truths but an endless succession of discoveries that change our understanding not only of the past but of ourselves and of the times we live in” (p. 101). So the second piece of the argument is the desire of people to understand their personal pasts and to use that knowledge to understand their present. Past experience and past example provide powerful lessons for people to draw upon when they wrestle with current issues and problems.
The final quote comes from Edward T. Linenthal’s “Epilogue: Reflections”. Here John Hope Franklin states that ‘explaining history from a variety of angles makes it not only more interesting, but also more true’ (p. 216). The more people included in any discussion of history and the more viewpoints that are considered, the more likely we are to see the whole picture and to gain universal understanding of the event both in its own time and as it affects the present.
The idea of inclusiveness stands out vividly in all of the essays included in Slavery and Public History. It is important to look at everything and to include all viewpoints in order to gain a better understanding of history. No one point of view, no one group can give the whole truth. One of the hurdles to finding the ‘truth’ lies in the fact that the winners, the powerful, and the most dominate groups have always been able to ‘write’ history. In order to truly understand history and to be able to use that knowledge to understand our present, we need to be as inclusive as possible.
I think you laid this out very nicely, Kathy. There were so many good quotes in this book. I also highlighted the one you referenced from the epilogue. History needs to be explained from different points of view; every individual has a unique voice and memory. The difficulty is in how to present this in public spaces like museums and historic sites without overwhelming or confusing the visitors. We live in the age of information overload, and I could see that becoming a problem if we overcompensate for past mistakes. But I wholeheartedly agree that we need to be inclusive to understand our own history in a realistic manner.
ReplyDeleteInclusion of all groups is definately one of the problems faced in presenting slavery in public institutions as seen in the book. I agree that if one doesn't include all the groups present when discussing history, then it is not all truthful. The problem I saw when places tried to include slavery into their exhibits was that they were not identified correctly such as at Colonial Williamsburg when at first slavery was addressed but not fully and understood to be not so bad of a thing. If a group is represented incorrectly, is that worse that not including the group at all? Maybe not representing a goup correctly will spur community interest in history and allow for a better representation in public spheres because of pressure from the community.
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