I recently reread Ta-Nehisi Coates’s thoughtful essay on his experiences visiting Civil War battlefields like Gettysburg and why so few African Americans study the Civil War.
"The Civil War confers on us the most terrible burden of all—the burden of moving from protest to production, the burden of summoning our own departed hands, so that they, too, may leave a mark."
Agree. Visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, I was struck very hard by the generosity of the donors in parting with family heirlooms to instruct and inform their fellow Americans. In particular, enslaved people had so little to leave to heirs or share with family members, it's particularly kind of their descendnts to donate, especially as these donation make the collection come alive.
"The Civil War confers on us the most terrible burden of all—the burden of moving from protest to production, the burden of summoning our own departed hands, so that they, too, may leave a mark."
Agree. Visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, I was struck very hard by the generosity of the donors in parting with family heirlooms to instruct and inform their fellow Americans. In particular, enslaved people had so little to leave to heirs or share with family members, it's particularly kind of their descendnts to donate, especially as these donation make the collection come alive.
I think this is another important aspect of what Coates was getting at in this piece.