As we study the homes of plantation owners verses the homes of the slaves, we are quick to label them as "poor", "minimal" and in general "not good". What we fail to realize is that these are the same words we would use to describe the homes of the average American of the time. We only thing the homes of the slaves to be unacceptable when we compare them to those of their owners. We discussed this very idea in class, but what we didn't point out (which I think may be a bit more significant) was that the homes of the slaves were not all that much different from what they experienced at in Africa.
"the use of consistently smaller room unit matches up with what is known of the usual spatial patterns for proxemic codes of West and Central Africa" pg 225 from "Afro-American Housing in Virginia's Landscape of Slavery"
We think they're living situation to be detestable, but really, it was just what they were used to. I think this is a good example of how our own experiences, standards and expectations can give a skewed perspective on history. It's really hard, but we need to learn to step back and think about the context and to approach facts from the right point of view.
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