Our outing this week was to the London, Sugar, and Slavery
gallery at the Museum of London Docklands in the East End of London.
In class, we had discussed Nancy Fraser’s article
“Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually
Existing Democracy,” a critique of the original Habermas article we discussed
as the foundation of the class.
Fraser wrote thoroughly about the idea of counter-publics-
smaller groups within the general population that create their own sort of public
sphere circles within the whole, broad public sphere (such as womens groups,
faith groups, etc).
On the way to the museum, I had a handout to read to set the
stage for the outing (source: Toolkit, London,
Sugar, and Slavery Website, http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Docklands/Whats-on/Galleries/LSS/),
and it included these quotes about the museum, discussing a Consultative Group
of direct descendants of enslaved Africans who were included in the process of
creating the exhibit.
“We learned that communities
were not homogenous static groups with stereotyped ideas, feelings, and
interpretations of history. There is a diversity of perspectives within
so-called ethnic groups.”
“Then one of them took
the plunge and began to explain the problem. It was the narrative voice. The
voice was that of the museum curator, not the voice of the community it
addressed. Despite all our care in dealing with a whole raft of difficult
issues, we had overlooked something so fundamental, we were stunned.”
My mission for the outing was to observe and note elements
throughout the exhibit that reflected the involvement of counter-publics in
creating the exhibit.
There were less extremely obvious examples of counter-public
involvement throughout the exhibit, and much more so subtle examples that one
might not necessarily notice if not made aware of the change in writing style
beforehand.
I noticed and was struck by the inclusion of artifacts of
African culture and art at the beginning of the exhibit. I found this
particularly powerful, as it put me in the mindset of remembering that these
people who became enslaved at the hands of Europeans and also Americans were
first people who had a beautiful and exquisite culture of their own. They were
not savages or barbarians like some history has made them out to be, and I
thought the inclusion of these masks and handmade artifacts was an excellent
and simple show of that, as well as something that the counter-publics knew
more directly and personally than a museum curator would have.
There were many quotes from those affected and from their
descendants throughout the exhibit, and they were a simple and powerful way of
making the voices heard and rounding out the display to include the historical
facts as well as the personal connections and experiences.
One section that I found particularly interesting and novel
discussed the terminology that was used throughout the gallery. It explained
terms typically used to describe those involved in slavery and how they were
viewed as offensive by different people groups, and then explained the more
politically correct as well as humane terms used in their place. An example of
this is the derogatory term “slave” and the term used instead, “enslaved
African” that didn’t strip those included of their humanity. This was something
I had never seriously considered, but sincerely appreciated learning, and most
definitely something that would have come from a counter-public that is more
aware of the feelings of their culture and what would offend them.
During a brief light and sound show presentation in the
gallery, quotes and text were read by a distinctly white European voice, which
one would come to expect, as they were the slave owners of the time, but then
an African voice was included in contrast, to share the opposite perspective.
Lines that I remember from the show were along the lines of “You will not have
a voice/Our voices were not heard. You shall not make your own music/You didn’t
hear our music. Etc) This was both moving and powerful, as you really were able
to experience the contrast of the two groups and feel the emotion on both sides
equally.
One display case included ceramic bowls and plates from the
abolition time period that depicted an enslaved African in chains, kneeling
down, as the main image in the center. It was explained that this image
portrayed the enslaved Africans as a very passive people. Members of today’s
local community were involved in recreating the designs to speak more boldly
about the issue and to counteract the passive view that was so commonly
associated with the enslaved Africans.
This was extremely significant and empowering, I’m sure, to the
community involved, as it finally gave them a voice in a loud and clear way
through the use of both art and practical household items.
Overall, the effects of all the involvement of the
counter-public groups are powerful and moving and made the experience much more
well-rounded and enlightening for me as a visitor. I was very intrigued by the
differences in this museum in contrast to what I’ve been taught my whole life
in schools, and I was struck by the differences and the lack of knowledge I had
on what the perspective was of the enslaved Africans and their descendants. I
had been taught a very “white” perspective on the whole issue of slavery, and I
was extremely grateful for the museum’s efforts to present a very thorough
understanding of the issue from all sides equally and powerfully. More museums
should be made aware of the efforts of the Museum of London Docklands to be
inclusive of the perspectives and opinions of counter-publics when the exhibits
feature their groups and their culture, and more museums should seek their
input in establishing their exhibits to enhance and add validity to their
information in every way.
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