A small and dilapidated Point of Pines? slave cabin has a special place in African-American history.? It will be showcased at the?Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington D.C. – it’s only a matter of time now until Paula Deen gets her season pass.
According to the announcement made by The Smithsonian,?some slaves embraced freedom far before the Emancipation Proclamation. Those who built and sustained Edisto Island, S.C.’s Point of Pines plantation were among the first to grab their liberty.
Museum Curator Nancy Bercaw said that the Point of Pines? ?self-emancipation? history inspired the slave cabin acquisition.
[It] will help us share the living history of a place and the resilience of the people, who, in the darkest days of slavery, built the cabin, cleared the land, worked in the fields and raised their families there. The cabin will be one of the jewels of the museum positioned at its center to tell the story of slavery and freedom within its walls.
Speaking of slavery’s horrid history, enduring the ongoing injustice required more than resilience. History.com helps paint a vivid image of what slaves faced, while living as someone’s property:
Slave owners sought to make their slaves completely dependent on them, and a system of restrictive codes governed life among slaves. They were prohibited from learning to read and write, and their behavior and movement was restricted. Many masters took sexual liberties with slave women, and rewarded obedient slave behavior with favors, while rebellious slaves were brutally punished.
While house slaves and skilled slaves might have been more favored than others, all slaves were subjected to indignity and brutality. Slave marriages were not even considered legal during that time and living conditions such as the slave cabin pictured were the norm.
So, despite the delusions of Paula Deen, a slave-catered wedding is all the more offensive. Slavery wasn’t a wonderful time in American history or the personal histories of many African-Americans.
Liberal America’s Kyle Neven reminds us of Deen’s less than inclusive look on life in a previous article entitled:?Racist Paula Deen ? Republican? Democrat? Let’s Fry This Can Of Worms (VIDEOS)
Edited and Published by Jeromie Williams
