Week 4: History Museums – Transformations

James and Lois Horton address historical questions concerning slavery and public history. The focus of the book concerns slavery and the amount of complexity public historians face when they attempt to discuss “the nation’s most enduring contradiction: the history of American slavery in a country dedicated to freedom” (Horton, 2006, p. vii). Slavery and Public History also presents the evident lack of public knowledge about slavery and seeks to contribute to filling in the gap in knowledge.
Horton (2006) argues, the United States of America are based on human freedom, yet the nation was shaped by human slavery. James and Lois Horton utilize other researchers/writers to explore various topics of slavery in order to sufficiently support their argument and to cover subcategories of slavery, such as the public’s perception. I appreciate the organization of this collection. It starts with “Coming to Terms with Slavery in the Twenty-First-Century America” by Berlin who simply puts it as “American history cannot be understood without slavery” (Horton, 2006, p. 2). It continues with telling the truth about history (Blight), the uncomfortable dialogue of slavery (Horton), etc. Linenthal points out, “All of these essays assume the historical and moral importance of engaging America’s indigestible stories” (Horton, 2006, p. 214).
This argument, which is based on the contradiction of the nation and the public facing and dealing with the uncomfortable realization of slavery, is indeed persuasive and valid. James and Lois Horton use a collection of essays by various scholars who understand the importance and morality in coming to terms and understanding slavery. Slavery has always been a touchy and sensitive subject, not only because the contradiction, also because it’s continuing effects. I expect it continue to be in many areas of Academia and various Organizations. It is time for further discussion by all arenas. The cliché sayings that ring true are, “your history helps you understand your future” and “if you don’t know where you come from, you will not know where you are going.”
This book is not just for those who are studying American history and/or African American history. It is also for everyone. It must be understood that American history is African American history and you cannot sufficiently discuss one without discussing the other, this includes the thorn topic of slavery. Overall, I found this book to be intriguing and I plan to share it with others, inside and outside of the academic world.
Sorry for the late post for week four (death in the family really threw me off).