Staged slave auction sparks debate on slavery and racism

Jet, Oct 31, 1994 by Clarence Waldron

The pain and horror of slavery came to life during a recent staged slave auction in Williamsburg, VA.

A Black man was sold as a slave to a White man during the mock auction. The slave's pregnant wife, begged the White slave master to buy her too and not separate her from her husband.

"Please, please don't do this," the slave Lucy begged. "Please, Mr. Taylor, buy me, too." But the White slave traders ignored her and stood emotionless as the Black family was broken apart.

The re-enactment of a traditional slave auction outraged many Blacks and sparked a heated debate on slavery and racism in this country.

Organizers of the make believe auction say it was held to educate the public about a brutal chapter in American history that is often overlooked and forgotten. But many Blacks felt the performance was held for entertainment purposes only and trivialized the lasting effects of slavery.

The auction was sponsored by Colonial Williamsburg, the country's largest living history museum. The outdoor museum is a tourist site of resotred 18th century houses and shops, located in a small section of Williamsburg. The purpose of the outdoor museum is to teach the story of the founding of the nation.

Christy Coleman, an actress who played the pregnant slave defended the slave auction during an interview on the "Today" Show. "The purpose of this re-enactment is to remind people how other human beings, African-American human beings, were treated once they arrived here," she said.

Ms. Coleman, who is also director of the African-American Interpretation and Presentations at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation added, "We have been teaching African-American history here at Colonial Williamsburg for 15 years when there are still institutions in this country who do not do it. Our visitors come here and they learn things that they did not learn in their history books because they've been omitted."

Brenda Andrews, publisher of the New Journal and Guide, a Black newspaper, in Norfolk, VA, disagreed, explaining that performing a mock slave auction is in poor taste.

"What she says sounds good," Ms. Andrews said on the "Today" Show. "I do think that we need to re-enact, recreate, and remember the institution of slavery because in 1994, we're still suffering from the effects of that institution." She maintained, "However, I think because of the sensitivity of the institution of slavery, and because of the continuing residual effects, it has to be done with a lot of caring and a lot of sensitivity. I have no belief that given the time limit, that this program will allow that level of sensitivity to come forth."

She added, "the institution of slavery was the African holocaust in America. And we must not forget that. We must not make light of it. We must not allow that institution to be sanitized nor sugar coated."

In a joint statement, the national office of the NAACP and the Virginia State chapter, said "Colonial Williamsburg is perpetuating the fallacies of denying the true depiction of history and glorifying the horrors and humiliations of the evils of slavery through a one-day event."

Newspaper publisher Brenda Andrews who attended the auction said she still opposed it. "My opinion has not changed at all," she told JET during a telephone interview. "It was entertainment."

She wrote an editorial the next day, stating: "Slavery is still a sore spot and the insistence by organizers that they could educate people on this sensitive subject in their arena was not fulfilled."

Andrews maintained, "The story of slavery needs to be remembered, not necessarily retold...Its residual effects continue today in the form of institutional and economic racism in employment, housing and equal opportunity in other areas. We still see too many African Americans whose minds are enslaved by thinking linked to second class citizenship mandated by slavery."

Phillip R. Cooke, president of the York/James City/Williamsburg NAACP chapter, admitted that after he saw the auction, he was not opposed to it. "We had our doubts about it. We didn't want to see that particular thing happen, but when it did happen, the branch had nothing against it."

One Black mother Rosalind Smith took her 9-year-old daughter to the staged auction. "I wanted her to see it so she would really know that it happened and that there's nothing to be ashamed of," she told the Washington Post. "When I was in school it wasn't taught.

Ms. Coleman said despite the protest, the staged auction was a success. "It puts a face to what happened," she maintained. "People will remember what they see and feel and hear far more than what they read."

She said the protesters misunderstood the purpose of the auction and took it out of context. "They're the ones who have grandiosed and sensationalized the event."

She said she is pleased that there is a debate about slavery and racism as a result of the auction. "Old wounds were open and it is now my hope that they can be properly healed. But the only way that can happen is for other museums, educational institutions, schools, and universities to get serious about their telling and teaching of American history--the good, the bad and the ugly."