海角论坛

November 29, 2018鈥� Earlier this month, the hosted a roundtable on 鈥淒ecolonizing the Museum,鈥� featuring historians from Howard University, the University of Virginia and George Mason University.

The conference was founded in light of ongoing discussions of race, identity and colonization in cultural institutions inspired by the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. As more German institutions have implemented exhibits that discuss their colonial history and their nation鈥檚 actions in diverse societies, the conference was organized to facilitate a discussion on how museums should proceed when addressing such history.

鈥淢y co-organizer, , and I hoped to create connections between efforts to decolonize distinct educational institutions 鈥� both museums and universities,鈥� said , a professor of German at Georgetown and one of the organizers of the event. 鈥淏oth were deeply implicated in the project of training white citizens to take up leadership roles in deeply unequal societies.鈥�

Araujo moderated the roundtable, which brought together four historians, each of whom had played a different role in addressing their institution鈥檚 history with slavery.

鈥淓ach panelist had taken on a leadership role at their respective institutions in researching their university’s past involvement in the slave economy and carrying discussions about the obligations resulting from this involvement forward,鈥� said Sieg. 鈥淭his took different forms, from archeological excavations of sites where slaves gathered for spiritual practices, to curricular innovation, to creative projects.鈥�

, an associate professor of history and African American studies, discussed her role working on Georgetown鈥檚 . While she noted that the University still has work to do, she commended the commitment it has exhibited in extending the conversation of its history with slavery into many different spaces.

鈥淚t does make a difference that our president talks about it at first-year convocation 鈥� I know a lot of parents were shocked by that,鈥� said Chatelain to the audience at the roundtable. 鈥淲hen we come together as a community, we put racial injustice at the center of this nation. I believe those practices are where it makes a difference.鈥�

, a professor of theater and performance studies in the Department of Performing Arts, and co-founding director of the , noted that Georgetown鈥檚 community has expanded how these discussions can be conducted to include creative and artistic responses.

鈥淚 think performance can facilitate memory and offer an opportunity to be a witness,鈥� Goldman said. 鈥淧erformance can be a research methodology.鈥�

Since Georgetown鈥檚 Working Group publication, Goldman has been working on bringing an original play portraying a higher education institution who is grappling with its history of slavery.

Kirt Von Daacke, a dean and historian from the University of Virginia, called for a national consortium of schools to address this problem. His institution realized the necessity for such an organization after it was inspired by its students to address the university鈥檚 deep ties to slavery. The consortium would help schools like George Mason, where history professor Benedict Carton has been grappling with how to address their namesake participation in slavery.

Chatelain believes that while addressing racial injustice need not be a university鈥檚 main focus, the university can play a role in both important community research and the development of socially conscious citizens.

鈥淯niversities are unable to facilitate racial healing,鈥� Chatelain said. 鈥淯niversities need to focus on their original missions 鈥� to teach young people to be socially conscious and active in this discussion by encouraging participation in social and racial justice projects in places like Louisiana, where many of the slaves sold by Georgetown Jesuits ended up. Only through their students can universities begin to make up for their history.鈥�

For Sieg, the roundtable served as a reminder that universities can make amends for their involvement in slavery in ways beyond memorials or scholarships for individual descendants. She hopes the audience left the roundtable with a new understanding of the challenges of racial history.

鈥淚 hope scholars and students from different universities learned from each other about strategies that help sustain the current commitment to racial justice among students, faculty, and the university administration,鈥� said Sieg. 鈥淚t was heartening to see that racial justice work is a lifelong commitment for participants in the roundtable, and for many of the colleagues and students in the room.鈥�