Plantations Are A National Abomination

The glorification of enslaved labor camps is indicative of America’s denial of its racist legacy.

These pristine grounds were the site of incomprehensible atrocities. Image credit: Sean Pavone via Shutterstock

…only in this nation have p̶l̶a̶n̶t̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ enslaved labor camps been retooled into pastoral theme parks, glorifying the lie of the genteel antebellum South.

Singer-actor-activist Jill Scott recently shot an Instagram story where she recounted her experience being taken on a tour of the grounds of a former plantation.

In her scathing testimony, she remembered seeing the main manor house and its furnishings preserved in pristine condition as other tour participants idly wandered the property and sat on porch swings drinking brandy and tea, “ooohing and aaahing” at the splendor of the grounds.

When taken inside the manor house, the tour guide spoke on the daily life of the house’s original inhabitants: the attire they wore, the soirees they held, and the indulgent cuisine they enjoyed.

Of course, nothing was mentioned about the brutal living and working conditions of the hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans whose forced, back-breaking labor and actual blood, sweat, tears, and dreams of freedom…