Through the House of Slaves: A memorial to the origins of the Black diaspora

Abstract

The debate surrounding the removal of statues of imperialists, slave owners and slave traders raises the question of how to memorialize sombre historical truths with cultural humility. The House of Slaves on Gorée Island, Senegal, represents the connections of cultural identity, belonging and placemaking reclaimed from the enduring cultural trauma of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Using daughtering as a methodology (Evans-Winters 2019: 1), the authors present a discussion about the symbolic nature of art that memorializes a transformational passage shaped by imperialism and racist ideology. The critical relationship between art and culture as embodied in an architectural form is explored through (1) the anthropological notion of belonging as membership and identity, (2) the direct human affective/emotional impact of architecture as art in the social and political issues of past and present and (3) art as an intracultural interaction based in cultural trauma and community spaces. Theoretical Framework: critical race theory. Method: autoethnographic narrative. Results: The House of Slaves speaks of a critical cultural moment that shaped the creation of a new cultural diaspora. This historical structure has become a sacred, spiritual Mecca for those whose ancestors were displaced from continental Africa. The remains of its architectural form reveal the forgotten history of slave exploitation that happened here. This memorial speaks of the continued struggle to make a space safe for Black bodies, Black design and Black identity within the public sphere. The cultural memory of this artefact, and all moments and memorials shaped by imperialism and racism, haunt our present reality. Just as art played a role in celebrating now-outdated narratives, it may also reframe these sombre historical truths. Art can elevate contemporary narratives that embrace cultural humility and speak to cultural competence through the continued first-person experiences of these monuments, spaces and artefacts.