Montpelier Day 2: Mere Distinctions of Colour Tour

"We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man." James Madison, June 6, 1787.

Liz guided us under the Main House to the Mere Distinction of Colour exhibit. Before entering, she warned up some of it is disturbing. We were first led to a video that debuted in 2017 that connects the history of enslavement to to our greater national history. It is full of trigger warnings from lynching, to sexual assault, to the Confederate flag. Some feel it doesn't go far enough. Others feel it goes too far. Likely they have struck the right balance. I do think it is time for an update since this does not cover the Trump years or George Floyd.

The rooms outside the video have stations where you can listen to oral histories shared by the MDC (Montpelier Descendants Committee). I could have spent hours listening to their stories.

There is an expression: "hate history, love nostalgia." People like to remember history as it didn't happen. I use the example of the glory days of flying when people dressed up, and there was more leg room. What is forgotten is that people were allowed to smoke while flying.

Though most white families cannot trace our families back to being plantation owners, EVERY Black American family can.

Montpelier was a self-contained community.

The Liberty Pipe found at Montpelier. 

One of the neatest finds is the Liberty Pipe. Carved by Billey, Madison's manservant while he lived in Philadelphia. Of Billey, Madison wrote, "too thoroughly tainted to be a fit companion for fellow slaves." Madison sold him to Philadelphia in 1783 where the law limited enslavement to seven years. He died in 1795 when he fell overboard from a ship sailing to New Orleans. He was a free man who went by the name William Gardener. 

Liz left us to explore on our own, only making sure we saw the other video before leaving. This one talks about the trauma the enslaved faced after James Madison Jr.'s death. Though Dolley was instructed to not sell any of the enslaved, they knew she likely would sell them off in different directions. She needed the money to pay the gambling debts of her son, John Payne Todd, and set up a home in Washington, DC befitting her station. The video is told through the eyes of one of the younger slaves as she watches her brothers, then her mother get sold.