Posted on Apr 25, 2022
The Missouri History Museum’s Jefferson statue gets context — and grapples with slavery
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For more than 100 years, the Thomas Jefferson statue at the Missouri History Museum has stood largely without context. Erected in 1913 to celebrate the Louisiana Purchase and the 1904 World’s Fair, the 9-foot-tall sculpture in the museum’s lobby was the country’s first public memorial dedicated to its third president.
Now, after a two-year process, the Missouri History Museum is installing three interpretive panels that describe Jefferson’s complex legacy.
Even though Jefferson made public statements opposing slavery, calling it a “hideous blot,” his private actions told a different story. Over the course of his life, Jefferson enslaved more than 600 people and had six children with an enslaved woman, Sally Hemings, the first when she was 16.
Now, after a two-year process, the Missouri History Museum is installing three interpretive panels that describe Jefferson’s complex legacy.
Even though Jefferson made public statements opposing slavery, calling it a “hideous blot,” his private actions told a different story. Over the course of his life, Jefferson enslaved more than 600 people and had six children with an enslaved woman, Sally Hemings, the first when she was 16.
The Missouri History Museum’s Jefferson statue gets context — and grapples with slavery
Posted from news.stlpublicradio.org
St. Louis
American History
Slavery
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Now, after a two-year process, the Missouri History Museum is installing three interpretive panels that describe Jefferson’s complex legacy.
Even though Jefferson made public statements opposing slavery, calling it a “hideous blot,” his private actions told a different story. Over the course of his life, Jefferson enslaved more than 600 people and had six children with an enslaved woman, Sally Hemings, the first when she was 16.
Priscilla Dowden-White and Jody Sowell helped decide how to interpret Jefferson's complex legacy.
The new panels, which go live Tuesday, grapple with that history. They include one titled “Freedom and Enslavement” that explicitly acknowledges Jefferson’s ties to slavery.
“He sought to expand white Americans’ rights and opportunities while at the same time profiting from the enslavement of Black men, women, and children at his Virginia plantation, Monticello,” the panel reads in part. “The Declaration of Independence remains inspirational. It has stirred the hearts of people in the United States and around the world. But Jefferson’s words cannot be separated from his actions. These are the contradictions we must wrestle with today.”
The idea that the added context will spur more conversation about Jefferson is welcome news to Priscilla Dowden-White, an associate professor of history at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
“I cannot think of a better illustration for us to engage the complexities not only of history, but of today,” explained Dowden-White on St. Louis on the Air. “A lot of times we don't want to deal with complexities, we just want to deal with the sound bites. Thomas Jefferson won't allow us to do that.”...
..."Now, after a two-year process, the Missouri History Museum is installing three interpretive panels that describe Jefferson’s complex legacy.
Even though Jefferson made public statements opposing slavery, calling it a “hideous blot,” his private actions told a different story. Over the course of his life, Jefferson enslaved more than 600 people and had six children with an enslaved woman, Sally Hemings, the first when she was 16.
Priscilla Dowden-White and Jody Sowell helped decide how to interpret Jefferson's complex legacy.
The new panels, which go live Tuesday, grapple with that history. They include one titled “Freedom and Enslavement” that explicitly acknowledges Jefferson’s ties to slavery.
“He sought to expand white Americans’ rights and opportunities while at the same time profiting from the enslavement of Black men, women, and children at his Virginia plantation, Monticello,” the panel reads in part. “The Declaration of Independence remains inspirational. It has stirred the hearts of people in the United States and around the world. But Jefferson’s words cannot be separated from his actions. These are the contradictions we must wrestle with today.”
The idea that the added context will spur more conversation about Jefferson is welcome news to Priscilla Dowden-White, an associate professor of history at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
“I cannot think of a better illustration for us to engage the complexities not only of history, but of today,” explained Dowden-White on St. Louis on the Air. “A lot of times we don't want to deal with complexities, we just want to deal with the sound bites. Thomas Jefferson won't allow us to do that.”...
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