Born Free

---

It was late in the summer of 1619, bearing a ship, "not any thing But 20 and odd Negroes" docked to the port of Point Comfort , Virginia.

These Africans were among The First victims of The American slave trade, 400 years ago.

It is abolished since 154 years since the Congress the slavery. Since That time, five generations of African Americans were Born Free .

Forty percent of all Slaves brought to America came through Charleston, South Carolina . The houses were sold in, where they were forced to work Until Death , are today tourist attractions brands-picturesque charm.

But Charleston reflects a very American truth: That nothing is untouched by The Legacy of slavery, and even centuries. What is less sure is how a city - and a Nation should talk about how a difficult past.

"slavery was not Bad - it is probably The Number one thing we hear," says plantation tour guide, Olivia Williams .

"To My face, people have said: Well, You had a place to sleep. They had meals, they had vegetables. "

Williams , 26, is criticized among the leaders in reviews of McLeod plantation, the. Many were amazed That white Visitors to plantations would push back against the consultation of The Slave -side of the story.

McLeod guide Olivia Williams , While McLeod far more positive reviews than negative, the discord struck unfolds in the center of a debate about the historical sites in cities such as Charleston has.

for decades, tourists have been drawn to Charleston and its plantations for the idyllic charm of The South , a conscious throwback to a Gone With The Wind era.

But the industry is slowly changing, as some believe, the tourist has to face, the truths of slavery instead of the rose-colored narrative with for so Long - even if it makes You uneasy.

entry of McLeod by his small visitor centre there are already signs That this is a different kind of tour. A plaque on The Front asks: do You think plantation owners, such as the McLeod family has experienced such turbulent times, unlike the Dawsons, the woods and other African-American families who lived here?

Our tour begins at the entrance, which is exactly the kind of scene You would expect on a plantation visit.

grey gravel surrounds a pristine, expansive lawn area, lined with Old Trees dripping with Spanish Moss , the spots of the sun. The Heart of the property sits an elegant white House , the picture of southern splendor.

This image may also be what attracts many of McLeod's Visitors , But it is not what these interpreters of the story You want.

On your tour, Williams does not directly address the controversial, if atypical, reviews. But she offers A Warning , your welcome.

"We do things a little differently than on other plantations in the Charleston area, because we do, focus our perspective on the enslaved people," she says of our group.

"what we're talking about today, is difficult," she says. "You feel uncomfortable. You may feel excited, sad, or angry, and That 's totally fine. If You want to walk, I will not be offended. "

No One on our tour, But it is a shock. There is a discomfort.

Many say That they never knew, That plan forced owners, marriages between "strong" Slaves to add to your "stock"; never heard That pregnant women were enslaved, whipped cream lying (to protect That investment); never learned That A Life of work began as early as the age of four years.

"It's gut-wrenching," says Michaela, a young woman from New York . "It sounds like a mill like a puppy, and still a million times worse. To ignore the idea alone, the terrible part of the story, it makes me sick. "

"I screamed," she adds. "And I'm glad That I'm now sad, because it has to happen, so ... You 're responsible to know what is happening. "

Williams brings The Group in front of what used to be The Kitchen to The House , where the enslaved women worked, It is also clear That some, hearing this story for the First Time , struggling to reconcile the beauty around You with the brutality of slavery.

"I don't know why [McLeod] wanted to represent [slavery]," a woman from North Carolina tells me, in search of the tree-lined path, where three slave dwellings are still standing. "I know, You worked here, But the owner worked, for the management of this place. I mean, it took a lot of work for the management of these plantations, even though it was done with slave labor. "

she muses That it was terrible to enslave people, But "You 've done it could never all without the use of slave labour".

Rotate in the main House , which remains in McLeod empty and open for self-guided tours only, she adds: "I would like to see it back in The Day ... And don't You Just Love these Old Trees ?"

At the end of our tour to the McLeod, guide Olivia Williams A Question from a woman answered know if there is a connection between the Way plantation owners forced enslaved women, "race" and "how black women are [now] at the end of That many fathers for their children".

Williams says That these kind of questions and comments are typical. She was yelled at, called a racist, a liar, unable to do their work. A tourist once wrote, Her Boss dismissed her. There are days, You leave work in tears, wondering whether she should return.

But most of the response to McLeod was positive, since Charleston County Parks, the location in 2015. The reviews, You will be prompted to do so, so a lot of media attention - and the uncomfortable comments of some Visitors - a small Band from The Hundreds of others, thanked McLeod ' s to find staff for the opening of their eyes to truths which can be hard to digest, for the white Americans .

This dissonance is partly due to a shortage in The Nation 's education system: it is a slightly different version of American History , taught to every American school.

The College of Charleston was grew up in 1770 in The South , to hear the students may never get the stories of Slaves , even if their own town was built, the eaves says on slave labor, College of Charleston Historian Shannon.

That is the fact, she says, is "a fundamental problem", which sheds light on The Legacy of racism in the United States.

"slavery had very Sims much life after death, which has carried us to The Present ," says.

she explained That the echo of the slavery and Jim Crow laws - laws That legalized racial segregation and black Americans -from the late 1880s, oppressed and lasted until the 1960s. to explain

"This might help, why we can Sims in the year 2019 and I still have students who say to me, I've never seen this story before," says. "And my answer is, well, That was By Accident . "

Gone with The Wind 's Scarlett O'hara (played by Vivien Leigh ), and their archetypal black maid, Mammy (Hattie Mcdaniel ) centuries of slavery, followed by decades of institutional oppression, according to Sims, has reinforced the old stories That the black Americans "as second-class citizens". Ignorance of history is behind The Persistence of nostalgia for the antebellum South - and for some, a rejection of anything That questions it.

"You would not go to listen to Auschwitz or Dachau and expect a happy story and go away happy, because You have an understanding That this was a place of death and exploitation and forced labour. A slave plantation was just That , although, Yes, this was someone's home. "

Middleton Place brands itself as the home of America 's "oldest gardens".

It is also one of The City 's oldest plantations. There are certainly elements of slave history in the grounds, and Middleton is a slave-focused tour But if the Visitors are not looking for You , You could miss it.

A sign at the entrance tells the guests the gardens and buildings are "The Evidence of The Work of generations of Africans and Afro-Americans ." The word "enslaved" is displayed, if, and there is no mention of what to keep these people out, as "gardens maintained, worked in The House , husbanded animals".

Director of the conservation and Interpretation of Jeff Neale says: "If You only talk about the brutality - and, okay - But if That is all You talk about, and leave the endurance, the strength of these people, I think slavery will be a very hollow vessel should. "

Neale adds That a lot has changed in The Last 25 years in Middleton, and That they are working on ways to make the experiences of Slaves more obvious in the entire property.

"more and More people, and realize That it is More Than just a story, of the owner or More Than just a history of The Site . "

He said That a visitor told him, after a tour That she "learned That Slaves had the children".

"as soon as She Said it, turn to red," Neale says. "And she goes, well, I knew That , But I never thought of You as mothers and fathers. "

south carolina, long reads, united states, slavery, us race relations

Source of news: bbc.com