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..out in de camp, out yonda in da camp, de ole, ole women too old to work and too old to make babies, dey stay an mind de young chilens so dat de me kin all work in de fields and dey fee dam an all so when de ma come back all dey got to do is to push ’em in de bed, all of dem in de same bed. –Frances Doby, age 100
Cammie G. Henry Research Center
Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Federal Writers Project Folder 19
On Monday, I went on a summer field trip to Whitney Plantation located in Wallace, LA. Established in 1752, Whitney Plantation was a working sugar plantation until the early 1970’s. Recently, it has been transformed into an active museum that captures the experience of enslavement. This place tells the unheard story of all other plantation homes. This story is not a romanticized version of plantation life. This story is gripping and harrowing and sad.
Inside the old Antioch Church, statues of enslaved children stand, some sit on the pews. The children of the slaves from Whitney Plantation tell you the story with their staring eyes. These stories were captured by a Federal Writers Project led by John Lomax in 1936. The plantation now honors over 100,000 names of slaves and children.
The Antioch Baptist Church was moved to the plantation in 1999. This church was built post Civil War (1870) by former slaves.
This memorial statue stands in the Field of Angels to honor all the slave children lost before age 3.
Panels in the Field of Angels include etched photographs, prayers, and quotes along with 2,200 names from documents in the Sacramental Records of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
A Jamaica line of sugar kettles remind us of the long, arduous task of turning cane into sugar.
If you are ever in the New Orleans area, Whitney Plantation is a worthy side trip. I believe we must try to understand our history to move forward into a better future.
Reflections on the Teche 