Remembering What We Want to Forget

I did not intend for this time in Guadeloupe to have a theme.  I just wanted to rest and spend time with my daughter and see the sites of this beautiful island.  But I brought along several books to read and it turned out that two of them were novels about slavery (including the wonderful "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd).  So slavery has been on my mind.

And then when we stayed in Marie Galante, I first became aware that the Caribbean has a different history with slavery than the U.S.  In fact, the many islands here have their own unique history that differs from the other islands - even though most of them were sugar-producing islands.  I wrote about some of this in a blog post last week.

But then we went to the Memorial ACTe Museum here in Guadeloupe.  It's brand new and it tells the story of slavery - all kinds of slavery including biblical and modern - but specifically focused on Caribbean slavery.  They don't allow any cameras or phones inside, so all I can post are photos from outside.

Here's some information from the brochure:

The museum is self-paced with an audio soundtrack in English.  The displays are interactive and engaging.  There are so many things I want to share but I'm still processing much of it.  There are four things that stand out, however.

1.  When Africans were captured, they were told by their captors to circle a "forgetfulness" tree three times and leave behind their past lives. At the museum, an artist used a full-size tree trunk and created "limbs and branches" that were tokens of African life - masks, dolls, clothing, tools, etc.  The point is that those things, that way of life, was not forgotten but continued to live on.

2. In a narrow hallway we were told to stop.  We began to hear the sounds of a ship sailing on the ocean, then soft moaning and crying.  As we listened, the abstract shapes on the floor transformed into full-sized projections of dark-skinned men, shackled together with barely an inch of room between them.  No matter how far we tried to squeeze near the wall, there wasn't any place to stand that wasn't taken up with their bodies.  I had seen drawings of how tightly packed slaves were forced to travel overseas. It's another thing to see it directly beneath you.

3. After viewing many rooms specifically about the Caribbean slave trade and French colonialism, we came to the room that described American slavery.  It was all true and accurate but I felt my face burn with shame.  Several other museum visitors had heard us speaking English, knew we were American.  Why did I feel shame when we had just seen how horrible the French (and English) had been to their slaves?  Because the American room included information about what happened after slavery was abolished, how hate groups like the KKK and Jim Crow laws continued to enforce a different form of slavery.  We had lynchings.  The European countries didn't.  I had to leave the room.  I had an overwhelming anguish that we have not dealt with our demons and our involvement in the evil of slavery and lingering injustice.

4. Fortunately, after the heaviness and sorrow of the museum, the last thing you do is walk down a long hallway - the hall of heroes - with huge banners hanging from the ceiling containing photos of men and women who raised their voices to stop slavery and injustice around the world.  Some heroes paid with their lives.  A deep gratitude rose up in me and a renewed dedication to live like that.  The best part of this Hall of Heroes is the soundtrack - the great Miriam Makeba (an anti-apartheid hero herself) singing "Pata Pata."  It was impossible to keep from dancing down the hall of heroes. https://youtu.be/kCc61z9IFu4