The Legacy of Slavery
There is so much about the lives of the enslaved people recognized throughout this exhibit that cannot ever be known.
Records from William Marshall Bullitt allude to some descendants of people enslaved by the Bullitt family still working on the Oxmoor plantation in the twentieth century. Letters dated 1906-1910 mention Sallie McGowan, who was previously enslaved, living on the Oxmoor property rent-free. It is unclear if this relationship would fit the definition of sharecropping—a financial arrangement where former enslaved people would continue to work for their former enslavers without pay, in exchange for living on the plantation at no cost to the enslaved person or their family.
After Emancipation, Louisiana Taylor and Frank Walker continued to serve the Bullitt family until at least 1879. It is unknown when they passed, but they are likely buried on the Oxmoor property.
In the one hundred and fifty years since Emancipation, the lasting effects and traumas created from the institution of slavery still influence our society. There are still historical, social, economic, and political wounds that can be healed through recognition, awareness, community-building, and restorative justice practices.
A recent acquisition at The Filson Historical Society exemplifies this shift in archival and historical thinking. This piece calls to attention the ways the past influences the present, and raises questions about whether and how how white socio-economic and political dominance rooted in slavery persists through our education system, housing practices, criminal justice systems, police departments, and prisons.
Arielle “Red” Biddix’s 2020 artwork, entitled “Amerikkka,” connects the Black Lives Matter Movement to these histories, and gets to the root of American injustice and anti-Blackness in the United States. Instead of a traditional canvas, Biddix painted atop a plywood sheet placed over the windows of a building in downtown Louisville during the protests following the killing of Breonna Taylor. This work was created after those protests and sold at the Global Economic Diversity Development Initiative's (GEDDI) "Tearing Down the Walls Together" Auction. This work, and the initiative as a whole, is meant to facilitate healing in Louisville, uplift Black artists, and celebrate Black culture in Louisville.
The Black woman in the work wears makeup made of 2020 newspaper articles and opens a golden, third eye telling the viewer to “wake up.” Her hair is wrapped with an American flag, and some of her hair comes to touch the golden jewelry hanging across her face. Cotton earrings dangle from her ears, and the background to the piece is filled with an original poem:
RULE THE NATION RED WITH DESPAIR AS BODIES LINE THE STREETS
WHITE FACES PAIRED ARMORED IN BLUE SUITS
& I SCREAM AMERICA
THIS IS NO LONGER NOR HAS IT EVER BEEN “LAND OF THE FREE, HOME OF THE BRAVE”
WE HAVE NO SENSE OF EQUALITY
THERE IS NO TRUE DEMOCRACY
RIOTS
RACIAL INDIGNITY ORDANES THESE STREETS & AS WE CONTINUE ALONG THIS PATH OF GRIEF
HANDS UP
TELL US GET DOWN!
MAN UP OR MAN DOWN
THE SEQUENCE OF THIS DOG EAT DOG WORLD ACHES
& THE FACT THAT NO ONE FEELS THE RIPPLES AND THE QUAKES
CHOOSING TO IGNORE WHAT’S IN OUR FACE WILL CONTINUE
I’M A START A RIOT
I’M A START A RIOT
AS THEY RULE THE NATION RED WITH DESPAIR AS BODIES LINE THE STREES, WHITE FACES PAIRED ARMORED IN BLUE SUITS & I SCREAM AMERICA
THIS ONGOING RATRACE
RIOTS
RACIAL INDIGNITY ORDANES THESE STREETS
IT’S TIME TO STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE
STOMP
SCREAM
CLAP YOUR HANDS
I REFUSE TO FEEL TRAPPED IN THIS GRIEF
IT’S CALLED THE TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT
DRINKING DRIPS OF SWEAT
SLOPPY SECONDS TO THE 1%
IT’S TIME TO CRANK! UP THIS VENT SESSIONS OF INJUST
BEHAVE YOURSELF NOW!
OH YOU THINK YOUR GONNA START A MOVEMENT?
CLICK CLACK POW!
BODIES FALL TO THE GROUND
RIOTS
This piece now hangs in the Special Collections reading room at the Filson. Her eye watches over every researcher, reminding them to keep their mind and hearts open to the connections between the past and present.