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State legislatures across the United States are on discussions of race and racism in the classroom. School boards are attempting to that deal with difficult histories. Lawmakers are .

Such efforts raise questions about whether students in the U.S. will ever be able to engage in free and meaningful discussions about the history of slavery in America and the effect it had on the nation.

As , we see a potential venue for these kinds of discussions that we believe to be an overlooked and poorly used resource: plantation museums.

If slavery is, as , 鈥済round zero for race relations,鈥� then the hundreds of plantation museums that dot the southeastern U.S. landscape seem like to confront the difficult history of America鈥檚 slave-owning past.

Exploring that possibility is one of the reasons why 鈥� along with fellow , , and 鈥� we received a to .

We think these plantation museums could be important sites for an educational with this difficult aspect of America鈥檚 past. But that鈥檚 only if the people who run these museums are committed to telling the truth about what took place, rather than perpetuating . This is particularly important as policymakers seek to curtail discussions about racism 鈥� or even 鈥� in America鈥檚 K-12 schools and colleges and universities.

Usages of these sites have traditionally life before the Civil War and . They have also downplayed the resistance and resilience of enslaved communities, thus preventing the nation from getting a fuller and more accurate picture of American slavery.

Reforms needed

In order to make better use of plantation museums as places to learn about racism and slavery, the museums must be reformed in a major way and do more than just . Rather, this reform demands a reworking of almost every facet of the museum 鈥� from misguided tours that gloss over the harsh living conditions of the enslaved to artifacts and marketing materials that emphasize the opulent and picturesque mansions that belie the horrors of what took place on the surrounding grounds. In , we discovered plantation museums where 50% of the tours never mentioned slavery. Our work provides practical guidance to the changes that need to happen.

Problematic places of learning

Within the United States, there are at least 375 plantations open for public tours scattered across 19 states. Based on nearly 2,000 surveys our research team conducted, visitors have indicated that they go to plantations to 鈥渓earn about history.鈥� The general public considers historical sites, such as plantation museums, to be . Therefore, they deserve to be held accountable for the educational experience they provide.

School field trips are an important revenue source for these often .

At Shirley Plantation in Virginia, field trips . At Meadow Farm, near Richmond, Virginia, . At Boone Hall in South Carolina, visit the site annually.

Whitewashing of history

At one Virginia plantation museum, we observed school children go on where they take on the roles of white slave owners. In one case, the children deliver a message between the white slave owner鈥檚 son 鈥� a Confederate soldier 鈥� and his sick mother while their plantation was occupied by Union troops. This, we believe, leads the children to identify and empathize with the white slave-owning family as opposed to the individuals they enslaved.

Toward reparative education

calls for plantation museums to engage in a more form of education. This education would come to terms with the injustices of the past and in the present, which in turn harms and .

Repairing these historical fallacies is not just about getting the facts correct about the enslaved and the enslavers. It also requires the public to about how slavery is a source of pain and tension in America. Lessons should show how this tension continues to impact . Often to construct buildings, roads, ports and rail lines we use in America.

found that many plantation museums were reluctant to highlight Black lives and histories. But there is promising evidence of change at sites like McLeod Plantation on James Island in Charleston, South Carolina, which opened in 2015, less than a year after the more well-known in Louisiana.

We see both museums 鈥� Whitney and McLeod 鈥� as exceptional in plantation tourism. Combined, our research found these two sites attract a more racially diverse visitorship than many other plantations because of the inclusive stories being told. Our surveys with visitors suggest public interest in the topic of slavery increased after taking guided tours that focused on the experiences of enslaved communities. In our view, this is a needed counterpoint to of some visitors pushing back against hearing these sober discussions. For instance, tour guides at McLeod reported white visitors yelling at them, claiming the tour their ancestors.

Both of these plantations represent a new way of educating the public about the realities of slavery. Here are three things that stood out during our assessment of the Whitney and McLeod plantations.

1. They incorporate slavery and the lives of the enslaved throughout the tour

We think it鈥檚 important to feature slavery and the lives of the enslaved and not keep it separate in a special exhibit.

Visitors should be given an opportunity to make thoughtful connections to those who were once enslaved by learning names and details about their lives. At Whitney, for example, visitors are encouraged to make emotional connections. One way they do this is by receiving a lanyard at the start of the tour that features the words and image of a formerly enslaved child.

2. They provide visitors a space to contemplate

We know the plantation can be an especially fraught and emotional experience, . During our fieldwork, Black visitors would often describe the land as sacred and a powerful place to . Some of these plantations have even hosted . Whitney Plantation provides opportunities for visitor reflection and contemplation throughout the tour, such as benches near a wall that memorializes and honors all of the people who were enslaved there.

3. Tour guides were well prepared

McLeod鈥檚 management purposely hired guides who would disrupt romantic notions of the plantation and engage meaningfully with themes of slavery, race and social justice. They also to guides doing the of challenging or complicating long-held plantation myths.

Managers at McLeod acknowledged the stress experienced by their tour guides when they focused on enslavement and its aftermath. They took extra steps to ensure that their guides were supported by initiating a 鈥済olden hour.鈥� This was a time for staff to come together and reflect on difficult encounters with the visitors, who sometimes challenged guides鈥� historical knowledge and fairness. It was also a time for the guides to develop strategies to cope with the of the hostility they faced while doing their jobs.

, Associate Professor of Geography, and , Professor of Geography,

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