Thursday, September 4, 2014

How Race Is Lived In America Chapter 8 "Reaping What Was Sown on the Plantation"

As I was reading chapter 8, I began to notice the central theme is not only centered on slavery, but involves two rather different perspectives. One viewpoint comes from Betty Hertzog, who is quite the typical southern woman who was born and raised on the Magnolia plantation in the small town of Natichitoches. Although it appears that she believes she is not racist, she wants to avoid the topic of slavery a bit too much. I don't think that she has necessarily come to terms with the anguish that her ancestors had most likely (if not inevitably) caused many African Americans throughout their lives on the plantation. Not only is she avoiding the topic, but she also makes some rather ignorant, racist comments towards it  by stating that "they should be grateful they got their freedom back then" and "they ought to be glad they are Americans, living in a free country."  I don't know if she thought this would somehow help end people discussing slavery, but I do know that it is not a very progressive idea towards viewing slavery and the descendants of slaves. She then attempts to defend her family by stating that her family treated their slaves well, and that some of them enjoyed their life on the plantation, yet she doesn't directly state that she feels some kind of remorse for the fact that they owned slaves.

The second viewpoint is that of Carla Cowles, who is not a native to  Natchitoches, but worked with the park services on the plantation and gave tours speaking heavily on the topic of slavery. Cowles had a heavy background in working for historical institutions, particularly involving slavery. She appealed to the tourists' empathy, asking them to imagine themselves as the slaves that used to dwell here. When comparing Cowles' view on how to approach the topic of slavery in modern times to Hertzog's, she states that "We can't heal old wounds until we look at the way life was and all its problems." She recognizes that this small town is dominated by the privileged white people, and that some of the aspects that go into the park are going to make people uncomfortable, but many of them appreciate the work that she does for the park.

In the end, Hertzog's "niece", Mary Catallo, made amends with Cowles and stated that the park was a good thing, because it opened up discussions that had been closed. Catallo clearly had a more progressive perspective than her aunt, as she recognized that there was a problem that could be helped by opening the conversation of slavery to the rather closed town of Natchitoches. 

9 comments:

  1. Avoidance seems to be a huge issue in Natchitoches. Carla Cowles and Betty Hertzog are just representatives of the chasm dividing this old southern town. They both had excuses for why they had not directly spoken to each other. This chapter showcased the social segregation that continues to be an issue in the town. Page 140 begins the section, "A Social Contract of Silence." There is discussion about another side of slavery, represented by Natchitoches. The town prides itself on the history of kindness to slaves, and a calm during the civil rights movement. On page 142, DeBlieux says, "Maybe there's no social closeness now, but there's no tensions." While some consider the town environment as respectful, others consider it a form of self preservation. A townsman named Winston expressed that for the black community, "silence has been less a matter of contentment than ingrained reticence"(148). I was struck by a comment made after the performance of slave skits in the new park. After a satisfied review from a racially mixed audience, one of the interpreters mentioned that " black people have to be careful to make white people comfortable." It seems as if there is an "unspoken code" in this town. I am curious how many of you would agree? I myself have been introduced to some of these same attitudes in my small town in Randolph County. I had a very honest friend who drew my attention to this "code." Once she pointed it out to me, I saw our town through a whole new lens. I began picking up on the subtle, unspoken rules and behaviors between black and white interactions. Even after all this time there is still "conditioning" hanging on. I consider the explanation from a reverend in Natchitoches. He summed it up well when he explained that there is still a large amount of hurt, anger and distrust between the socially segregated town. I am curious if time will be a healing element of our history? I don't think that avoidance will ever bring socially segregated communities together. I think that this park provides a great opportunity to open up a dialogue that is way overdue. I suppose there are some who are frightened that breaking this social code of silence, and vocalizing racial issues will only open up wounds.

    I found the perspective of Leslie Vercher a very interesting departure from the mainstream discussion. His father was born on the Magnolia property, and lived in the quarters not a slave, but as an employee. He took pride in his work on the land. Vercher now works for the park service on the same land, restoring the cabins. He also shares the opinion with Hertzog that the Magnolia's focus of slavery should remain in the past.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shannon...concerning the points you make in your last paragraph...Leslie Vercher's point of view is indeed interesting (I hope we dissect it a bit in class today), and his opinion can be described (as you do) as being shared with Miss Betty...but let's also delve a little deeper into the psychological reasons that Miss Betty and Leslie both feel that slavery shouldn't be openly discussed. Do you think they each come to this opinion by way of similar thought processes or desires?

      Delete
    2. I think that they both desire to hang on to a positive image of each of their family's. A closer look into slavery may taint their viewpoints of their family's memories, contributions, and heritages, and they fear this. If memories are all we have left of our past, we tend to cling to the facts which preserve how we wish to remember our lost loved ones. Perhaps there is also fear from both Miss Betty and Leslie that they have to look at their own identities in relation to their predecessors.

      Delete
  2. There does seem to be a "code" for this town, but I think that it is probably more the rule than the exception. It's a kind of historical agnosticism until the issue is pressed and then it becomes talk about how well slaves were treated as if this somehow qualifies the lack of conversation. It also has a lot to do with defining the past from two different perspectives that have very personal connections with the common thread of slavery. One seeks acknowledgment of injustice, while the other doesn't want her family vilified. At the point which people are faced with the realities of what went on at the Magnolia plantation the question become a classic one: Who owns the past?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I do agree with Shannon and the idea of an "unspoken code." I wanted to readdress the quote, "black people have to be careful to make white people comfortable." I feel that this quote itself is able to bring up a lot of mixed feelings and questions. The way I read this was that the "unspoken code" was a way of censoring the full extent of the truth of the slavery that happened on that plantation.
    There was a good point that Carla Cowles pointed out in the book that I think relates to Johns question, "Who owns the past?" She says, "But the story was not a complete lie. The truth is that there is no one truth to slavery. It was different from state to state, plantation to plantation." The reason why I feel that this relates is because, depending on how they were treated, whites or blacks will feel completely different on the ownership of their own history. Tate had some documents about a slave that had masters who had taught him how to read and write and others about a slave beaten by whites when discovered reading a newspaper. Depending on the history of that individual, it would cause them to feel that they need something back such has having their story told, or they would feel grateful for the ones that helped in the time of need; which would cause them to feel in-debt to the ones that helped.

    I'm not entirely sure if I am writing out my idea correctly, so bare with me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Certainly the particular experiences of any one slave or slave owner will vary...we are talking about millions of peoples over hundreds of years and thousands of miles! In that sense, there is no "one truth" about slavery and how it was experienced by people. But there are certainly some universal aspects of the reality of being chattel slavery or treating people as property. Let's not get too relativistic here!

      Delete
  4. I also agree that there is an established "code" or rules that are followed in this town and the ideology of avoiding the issue isn't necessarily productive. Living in the south for all my life I have grown up around this sort of mentality. However, I believe that the situation between both whites and blacks in Natchitoches, and other areas, is somewhat progressive. Trying to heal the wounds from their history is a good start. I believe that with time coupled with an understanding of racial and cultural differences that hopefully race will no longer become the problem that it is today.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think this article is a great representation of the struggle between preserving our history and aknowledging the injustices in that history. The old antebellum plantations were and are beautiful, but we need to remember that they were built on the backs of slaves. Slave labor fianced them, and slaves built them. The grand staircases down which the beautifully dressed women would descend to make a grand entrance to the ball were literally niaied together by slaves. Without slavery the antebellum lifestyle would not have been possible.
    So who owns the past? We all do, and it is everyone's responsibility to try to eplore and represent as many aspects of that past as possible. We can not gloss over slavery and pretend it wasn't that bad, or avoid talking about it to avoid hurt feelings. Obviously, some situations were worse than others, but it was all slavery. Having the slave perspective represented at the plantation is a great way to bring in another side to the story. It won't didn't suit everyone, but it started a conversation that we need to about our past,

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.