| She also told us, enthusiastically and proudly, that the materials used from marble floors to decorative windows all were imported from Europe! What struck me most was not the wealth of the slave masters nor the beauty of the structure and the furniture in it; nor the fact that many films were made in part or entirely on location in this plantation. I was struck at the little story on the relationship of the family with their slaves. According to our tour guide, the dining room of the mansion was separated from the kitchen by a "whistler's lane." The cook must keep whistling as he/she delivered the food to the dining room, assuring the masters that he/she wasn't tasting it. The story left a bad taste in my mouth. At Laura Plantation, a few meters away from Oak Alley Plantation, there were many visible traces of history: slave cabins, Code of Discipline of Slaves, a big sugar cane kettle used to convert sugar cane to liquid sugar, a slave bell, and a list of slaves with dollar amount of their original purchase opposite their names, ranging from $25 to more than a thousand dollars. There were even descriptions of each of the slaves. One read: "54 year old, sickly, can't work in the field well ... $25." I felt sick to my stomach. I am 54 years old, sickly, can't work in the field well ... and most of all, my skin is brown. I thanked God it was history and prayed that this horrible past won't ever happen again in whatever form ... anywhere. That dream has yet to be completely realized though, because there are many parts in the world still stuck in this horrible moment of history. |
| Louisiana Plantations Ghosts of a horrible past |
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| Heidi M. Pascual* Publisher & Editor Asian Wisconzine * 2006 Journalist of the Year for the State of Wisconsin (U.S. SBA) |
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| During the first anniversary of Katrina last year, I went to New Orleans for various reasons. First, I wanted to see for myself the devastation that Hurricane Katrina wreaked that destroyed not only the landscape of a beautiful city (that I had dreamt of visiting since my youth) but also the lives of countless of people, most of whom are poor and "colored" like me. Second, I wanted to hear stories from the people who were, and still are, affected by it. I listened to their stories as my editor at The Capital City Hues interviewed some African Americans who had to evacuate when the water surge from the levees covered their homes and threatened their lives. I listened to their stories as I myself interviewed some Asian American residents (Filipino, Chinese, and Vietnamese) who also left their homes and lived to tell their own Katrina experience. Third, I wanted to see a plantation, the South's source of economic power which was fueled by slave labor, undoubtedly the most shameful blot in American history. I would like to share with our readers my experience while visiting two such plantations. One of the popular tours for visitors in Lousiana is the "Plantation Tour" that generally showcases the wealth and influence of former slave masters. To me, however, the tour is a reminder of America's horrible past. It highlights huge and beautiful mansions of former slave masters in contrast to small and almost dilapidated slave cabins. Oak Alley Plantation, along Highway 18 (above right), is an hour-drive by car from New Orleans. It is famous for its majestic oak trees planted more than 300 years ago by an unknown settler. The Plantation's tour guide, dressed in a period attire, explained in detail the "history" of the family that built the mansion. |
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| (L-R) Tthe inside of one of the cabins displays some of the household items used by slaves and their decendants as recent as the '70s; A Code of Discipline of slaves. |
| (Above) A slave cabin still stands on the huge backyard of Laura Plantation. |
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