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Visit to The Whitney Plantation {Part 2}
These are the names of the enslaved people who lived and worked at the Whitney Plantation. Seeing their names and reading their birth dates humanized them. It’s one thing to have this idea but to see tangible proof of their existence is a whole new thing. ABOUT THE WHITNEY PLANTATION The Whitney Plantation is located in Edgard, Louisiana, and has the distinction of being the only former plantation site in Louisiana that focuses on slavery. Originally known as Habitation Haydel, the Whitney Plantation was founded in 1752 by Ambroise Haydel, one of many German immigrants who colonized the river parishes in the 18th century. Habitation Haydel remained with his family…
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The Whitney Plantation {Part 1}
I’m not sure how or when I heard about the Whitney Plantation, but I do remember making a mental note that I wanted to visit. I vaguely remember reading {or hearing} about damage that had been done to the plantation as a result of Hurricane Ida, so I figured we’d best visit soon. Side note: many of the exhibits were closed due to damage/remodeling. I talked to The Hubs to see if he had anything planned for this weekend, he didn’t so I scheduled a tour. The tour was intense. I had to physically restrain myself from running my fingers across the walls and the floors. I’m not sure what…
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Book Review: Sweetsmoke by David Fuller
Sweetsmoke is the story of Cassius Howard, a secretly literate slave, and his desire to find justice for his murdered friend, Emoline Justice. Emoline was a free black woman who served as surrogate mother and mentor to Cassius while he was recovering from a severe beating. Using his cunning and the limited freedoms granted to him as a favored slave, Cassius is able to gather clues to the identity of Emoline’s murderer. These clues take him from his plantation, Sweetsmoke, to the campgrounds of Confederate and Union soldiers to the middle of a battlefield during the Civil War. Along the way, Cassius meets a host of characters who alternately move…
