The Importance of Plantations

History teaches us many things...

What do you remember more from your elementary school years?

The classroom lessons or the field trips?

I will venture to guess what your answer is. I bet its the same as mine.

Field trips, all day every day.

Photo by Andie Kolbeck on Unsplash

I grew up in California, near the Monterey Bay area, and was lucky enough to have my feild trips at the world class Monterey Bay aquarium. I don’t know if I could tell you the scientific information about all the fish I saw…but I can tell you I grew to be at ease around the various sea life we saw.

There was less mystery in sea creatures for me and I have always had a basic comfort when talking about ocean creatures.

I’ll bet many have similar experiences.

One thing I never experienced in my youth…

Southern history.

Growing up in California has its own historic emphasis. I know that Father Junipero Serra played a large role in California and establishing the many missions throughout my home state. You can visit all sorts of those missions.

Plantations in the south feel like they might be an opportunity for those who live here to learn about that part of our American history.

And we avoid history’s mistakes by learning from them.

A Field Trip to Southern Plantations

Oak Alley, The Myrtles…those are two spots Jenn visited recenlty and while both approach the difficult history of enslavement differently…they do address it.

This is how we learn. Keeping these historical experiences present allow us to experience the history in a small way. Not just the good, but the bad…and we (hopefully) get comfortable addressing that difficult history.

Being able to learn through experience and then talk about difficult topics - saying “we shouldn’t do XYZ again” is important.

After all, just like when we were kids…sometimes the best way to learn something is a field trip.

📍 Google Maps to Oak Alley Plantation

🎥 Video On Location at Oak Alley Plantation

🎙️Podcast about the History of Oak Alley Plantation

Want to visit a plantation is supposed to be haunted?

📍 Google Maps to The Myrtles

🎥 Video On Location at The Myrtles

🎙️ Podcast on the Haunted History of the Myrtles