NHPR's Lisa Peakes takes a look at some of the items and talks with the organizers of the exhibit about why it's come to New Hampshire.
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HOST:
This is New Hampshire today. I’m Lisa Peakes.
A new exhibit at Rivier College in Nashua features relics of a past that many would rather forget. The exhibit’s sponsors hope the items will give people a better understanding of race in our society today and what kind of people we want to become. (NHPR’s Lisa Peakes reports)
I’m with Sister Marie Couture and Sharron Rowlett in a room at Rivier College’s art department. We’re freeing several objects from their carefully packaged covers of thick tape and bubble wrap. The first to come out are the slave collars.
We take turns holding the rusted pieces of iron, imagining how they were used and who wore them. Sharron Rowlett points out that one of the collars is decorated:
“You know when you look at a leather strap ?..............”
We move on to several pairs of shackles. One pair was clearly made for children. Rowlett picks up another one guaranteed to prevent escape:
“This right here, these two….”
Sharron’s great-great grandmother worked on a plantation
Another package contains documents from the 19th century. One is a thick but frail book from 1857, called “Pictures of Slavery in Church and State - Including Personal Reminiscences, Biographical Sketches, and Anecdotes…It was collected by John Dixon Long, a Philadelphia minister who was an abolitionist. Sister Marie reads a passage:
“My design, he said, is not to….”
Sharron Rowlett is the Director of Multicultural Affairs at Rivier. She worked for close to a year to get the exhibit to come to the college. I asked her a few questions about why she felt it was important for the collection to come to New Hampshire:
“The Artifacts of Slavery: Rare African-American Memorabilia” Opens a month-long showing at Rivier College this Sunday. There’ll be a reception at 2 pm featuring Gene Peters. Rivier College will hold three other events during the month, including a gospel concert, an African Dance Troupe performance and a panel discussion on tolerance and acceptance.
For more information, go to our web site at NHPR dot org. For NHPR news, I’m Lisa Peakes.
