Source: The Atlantic
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will open up to the public in September and one of its largest and most recently acquired artifacts is the home of a former slave.
The museum acquired the original structure of the freedman settlement, built by former slave Richard Jones in 1875. The structure had been passed down through the generations and was going to finally be removed by the most recent landowner. The museum then stepped in to carefully disassemble the structure and erect it in the museum for visitors to walk through.
“The house is a remarkable physical representation of Reconstruction, one that shows both the modest conditions in which former slaves lived and the social aspirations of freedmen,” Kriston Capps wrote for The Atlantic.
Referred to as “The Freedom House,” the structure will be among other significant artifacts pertaining to Jim Crow and slavery, serving as a highlight of the “know-how, engineering, and creativity” of African American former slaves.
Read full story at: The Atlantic