Going Up North

Today we spent the day out of the classroom visiting two different museums. The first place we visited was the Lexington County Museum. Within the Lexington County Museum was the oldest house in Lexington; built in 1771 by Laurance Corley, the log house demonstrated the simple and solitary lifestyle many settlers experienced when they first arrived in the South.

In the afternoon we crossed state lines and traveled to the Levine Museum of the New South (Charlotte, North Carolina). This museum focused on how attitudes to race in the South East have transformed since the abolition of slavery. What was made very clear to us through this visit was that although slavery technically ended in 1865, the enslavement of people of color had continued to be present within American society. In response to the abolition of slavery, power was exerted over people of color via methods such as share cropping and limited voting rights. It was very thought provoking to consider that the cotton trade and the existence of mill villages acted as an extension of slavery. The reliance of workers on factory owners for accommodation and healthcare meant that many people of color were still 'enslaved'.

Today was definitely an informative and enlightening experience for us all. Our visit to Lexington County Museum really brought to life what it was like to live in the colonial South. In addition to this, the Levine Museum of the New South really forced us to reconsider whether slavery is something of the past or whether it continues to manifest itself within society today.