So. Last winter I went to Barbados, thereby being in the sun and sand December and January rather than New England. How do I spend my time? Exploring the legacy of enslavement and the dehumanization of an entire race! Woo-hoo!
How to make a trip to the tropics as depressing as possible. Friday, Oct 21 2011
Caribbean and interviews and post-colonialism and slavery and travel 8:40 pm
God’s Little Acre Monday, Aug 2 2010
cemeteries and materials and pictures and slavery and texts and travel 7:14 pm
I’m skulking through Newport’s Common Ground Cemetery, searching for the slave plots. Night is beginning to fall in earnest and a light drizzle is blanketing the ground. As I step in a divet and faceplant I curse myself for leaving my flashlight in my friend’s car (thanks, M, for letting me drive all over the Rhode Island coast). The rain and the rapidly darkening sky add a certain degree of atmosphere to this whole thing but, having been an avid watcher of both Buffy and the X Files I’m feeling a little bit . . . well . . . bite-able. Thanks to all the cars slowing down to watch the strange, bearded, damp, and shabby-looking prowler trawl through a cemetery squinting at headstones and snapping pictures I’m also feeling rather ghoulish.
Photos from Newport Friday, Jul 30 2010
Newport, Rhode Island. The epitome of a resort community. Sparkling blue waters, stately and striking mansions, upscale and unaffected residents and tourists wearing their wealth with the ease of old pros. Behind the scenes, however, lurks the legacy of chattel slavery. Let’s examine some photos, shall we?
John Brown: Large and Loud Wednesday, Jul 28 2010
pictures and slavery and travel 1:13 am
“Now over on your left you can see a reproduction of John Brown’s carriage. He would use this on longer trips.” The docent leaned against one of the wheels. It was a good head taller than he was. I estimated that I beat its diameter by only an inch or two. “It is much larger than carriages of its type, partially due to Brown’s obesity in his later years and partially due to his desire to impress.” John Brown and Isaac Royall, I thought to myself. Two “nouveau riche” peas in a pod.
Not that John Brown Tuesday, Jul 27 2010
So . . . after a trip to Rhode Island and then another trip to Buffalo, catching up on a full week of work, unpacking, doing laundry, finding a new apartment and cleaning my room, I am finally back to typing up my research notes. The good news? There are a lot of them, and they’re backed up, so I have plenty to keep myself occupied until my next trip to Providence! Which means I should be posting these on a more regular basis. Um. Yey?
Dr. Tomato, I presume? 