By Paige Atwell
Belle Meade Plantation has always valued the importance of telling a story while educating visitors in the process. With slavery being such a big part of their history, the Belle Meade Education Department has had a specific field trip that focused on the topic for almost twenty years. But in 2018, their staff underwent an in-depth training regarding the ethical development of programs and tours concerning slavery and African American history that inspired a complete overhaul of their programs.
“This training encouraged us to launch a new tour for adults that summer called ‘Journey to Jubilee,’” explained Rachel Gibson, vice president of operations and director of education of Belle Meade. “This tour was developed to give visitors a deeper understanding of the harshness, the realities and the nuances of the system of slavery. Likewise, I was encouraged by this training to completely overhaul the field trip concerning slavery that we offered at the time. So that summer, my staff and I retired our former field trip on the subject and developed the ‘Stories of Slavery and Freedom’ tour for school groups.”
The “Stories of Slavery and Freedom” tour revolves around the experiences of Millie and Monroe, two children who labored at Belle Meade in the years surrounding the Civil War. Families are taken through the mansion; carriage house and slave cabin throughout the tour, where they learn about connections between the Thoroughbred industry and slavery, living conditions and are encouraged to ask questions and have meaningful conversations.
“On this tour, you can expect the educator to lean down, and talk directly to the children,” says Rachel. “The result is less of a traditional tour and more of a conversation. While we have certain points we always make and certain themes that we keep to, each tour is unique in terms of specifics, because our educators allow the flow of the tour to come from the questions of the children. Regardless, you can expect an honest and age-appropriate discussion of historical racism and the legacy of slavery on race relations today.”
Aside from being geared specifically towards children, what makes this tour unique is the role empathy played in the development of the programming. “Since the early 2000s, a lot of research has been completed on the role of empathy in learning,” shares Rachel. “This way of intentionally looking at a historical moment from the perspective of the person who lived it is a very powerful way to teach and learn about difficult history, like slavery. This tour’s empathy-driven approach dovetails with inquiry-based teaching techniques, which are currently considered to be among the most effective learning tools in the museum setting. We ask the participants questions like, ‘If Monroe’s shoes were wearing thin and he was walking across a dirt path toward the horse paddocks, do you think his feet got dirty? Have you had dirt in your shoes? How does it feel to have dirt in your shoes? How would it feel to constantly have dirt in your shoes?’ Throughout this tour, we direct children’s attention to the little details of daily life that they can relate to - sights, smells, sounds and physical sensations - in order to lead them to the understanding that the enslaved people of the past experienced the same feelings we experience today, like feelings of inferiority, fear, anger, disappointment, hope and pride. The last layer of the tour places all of these relatable details and very personal experiences into the historical context of the past. The result is a lesson about the past that the learner feels personally connected to.”
This year, Belle Meade will continue to offer “Stories of Slavery and Freedom,” along with several other student programs throughout the 2020-2021 school year. Not only is it a socially distanced, COVID-friendly activity, but it’s also an excellent learning opportunity for both students and adults alike as we continue the fight for racial equality.
“Overall, our mission is to create innovative and immersing experiences for our visitors, while maintaining high standards of ethical interpretation, preservation and research,” explains Rachel. “For this particular program (and all student programming), our education department’s goal is to provide learning opportunities that are educational and age-appropriate. We do not shy away from difficult topics, but meet them head-on, with boldness and authenticity.”
To learn more about Belle Meade Plantation, upcoming programs or to purchase tickets, visit bellemeadeplantion.com.
