How many other artifacts are still hidden in an attic, trunk, or basement because museums and historic sites have not been ready to display them respectfully? How many of those relate to the experiences of enslaved Africans? This distinction between a lack of material culture and a preservation of the very same culture is essential. This campaign unearthed tens of thousands of artifacts for the NMAAHC most were free-will donations made by people who decided their personal collections were finally able to be seen and respected in the manner they necessitated. Under his “Saving African American Treasures” initiative, Bunch deployed conservationists and other museum professionals around the United States in an effort to identify and save artifacts protected and preserved by generations of Black families. Once it was clear that there would be a NMAAHC, Founding Director Lonnie Bunch began a groundbreaking campaign to collect these artifacts. Photo courtesy the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The woman who gifted it to the NMAAHC from its longtime place in her family’s Virginia home remarked that “It was time for it to leave here…because there’s so much blood on it.” It was not until the NMAAHC’s founding that many of these artifacts were seen outside the confines of a single family or community, because there were few museums and historic sites willing or able to display them with a mindful acknowledgement of the artifacts’ troublesome and sometimes disturbing histories.Ī page from revolutionary and slave revolt leader Nat Turner’s Bible, which is now permanently at the NMAAHC. Rex Ellis, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs at the NMAAHC, recalled the moment he first came face to face with the Bible of infamous Black slave revolt leader Nat Turner. Many African Americans certainly knew the value of these artifacts. It was not negligence keeping these items stowed away – it was an instinct of preservation. Physical artifacts of African American history had often been either lost, passed around to various families, or stored in people’s attics for generations. The staff at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), when collecting the first artifacts for display in the museum, ventured around the nation to track down relevant objects. It is not as if I am the first person studying African enslavement to encounter this problem. Photo courtesy the United States National Archives. As is clear from this image, the house was in very bad condition at one point in time.
The exterior of the Shirley-Eustis House in 1940, nearly forty years prior to its restoration. Add to that injustice the constantly changing structure and use of the Shirley-Eustis House (at one point it was even used as a “home for wayward girls”), and it is a recipe for the reproduction rather than the display of original artifacts. Given that my exhibit will focus on enslaved Africans at the house, most of whom do not even have their names written in the historical record, it is not surprising that no artifacts of their existence have survived the past three hundred years. However, when I use the word “nearly,” there is one particular aspect of my internship that has led to frustration: the lack of original sources to catalog for my developing web exhibit. The site’s Executive Director, Suzy Buchanan, has been gracious enough to let me trail behind her on Fridays, learning exactly how she does what she does. My duties have led me to a much deeper understanding of how museums operate, from the mundane – hanging Christmas lights for an evening event – to the glamorous preparation of the house for use as a backdrop in multiple documentaries. I have enjoyed nearly every single aspect of my internship this semester at the Shirley-Eustis House in Roxbury.
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