Anyone who has been following this blog knows that I have been going on lots of touristy-type outings while here in the Eastern United States. Not counting the Detroit Redwings Hockey Game, skiing the mole hills, or the Ohio Caves expedition with my dear friend the Adventurous Britt, I have visited the Toledo museum twice (this is truly an amazing and unexpected treasure) and will need an additional trip or two to see the entire thing (http://www.toledomuseum.org). I have gone to the Henry Ford museum (http://www.thehenryford.org/museum/index.aspx), which is a must see for anyone who considers themselves a student of innovation. Of course, the cars were pretty cool too. I have also recently been to “The Bodies” exhibit at the Michigan Science Center (http://www.mi-sci.org/).
This week, I decided to check out the Charles Wright museum of African History (http://thewright.org/). My favorite chef, Fernando, accompanied me. I guess all this museum hopping does make me a bit of a tourist, but I think this museum was a little different than the others. Firstly, it was information intense beyond anything you would experience at, say, an art museum like the Toledo Art Museum, or the Detroit Institute of Arts (http://www.dia.org/), which is where Fernando and I had lunch before our journey through the Charles Wright museum. Thankfully we did.
In hindsight, I think I was expecting an emotionally challenging experience given the subject matter. I was especially worried because during the visit to the Henry Ford museum I felt nauseous and overwhelmed while sitting on the Rosa Parks bus. And, while the exhibits were indeed emotionally challenging, they were even more intellectually challenging because there was so much information that went with each of them. This tour was packed with so much information and was so mentally overwhelming that I had to go home and take a nap, which incidentally lasted until this morning.
From an emotional stand point the most difficult part of the experience was the recreation of the “door of no return,” from within the Ghana trade station. You start of in the dungeons with the chain links hooked into the walls. It is very dark and dank feeling and you walk through a long lightless corridor to the deck of a ship. For the men and women who actually made that journey, it truly was the door of no return as these people would never see their homeland again.
The experience deepens as you make your way around the ship deck and find that the only way out is down a dark set of stairs into the belly of the ship where the live cargo was kept. I have known for many years the people were laid out on tiered shelves and shackled in place. What I didn’t know was that they were not laid on their backs. They were not given any room to turn this way or that. No! These people were turned on their sides and squished together. There was barely enough room to breathe!
There was a lot to read in most of the exhibits and the information transfer was almost as emotionally impactful as those steps through the “Door of No Return,” only lacking in the visual experience. I think the biggest shock for me was not that the slave ships reeked so badly you could smell them from miles away. It was not that the slavers covered up the slaves sores and injuries with tar to hide them and get a better price, nor was it the fact that they could get around an insurance limitation of not being able to collect on lost cargo if the cargo was neglected or mistreated by simply tossing them over the side and declaring these men and woman to be “lost at sea.” No, I think the biggest shock for me was that the Lincoln Proclamation of Emancipation, which was ratified by most states in 1865, was not ratified by Kentucky until 1976 or by Mississippi until 1995. That was the biggest shock to this quirky Canadian. If you ever have the chance to visit Charles Wright museum, I definitely recommend it. Just eat lunch first. You’ll need it!
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