Creating safe spaces for education and reflection

Mount Vernon: Recognizing that visitors to the site will come with diverse background information, curators at Mt. Vernon rely heavily on primary sources that provide multiple perspectives, as well as a way to relate this history to current issues faced by society.

A memorial to the enslaved people of Mt. Vernon, installed in 1983 at the burial grounds. Public Domain.

Most importantly, curators and docents provide a space for visitors to reflect and reconcile. Guests are finding the new tours and exhibits to bring the space to life in a way that allows them to connect concretely to the history of enslavement in America. The site also includes programs for educators to learn about teaching race in the classroom. Their approach traces racial violence in reverse, from the Charleston, SC church shooting in 2015 to the Middle Passage.