“Publications and artifacts from the 1800s help us to obtain a greater insight and understanding of the institution of slavery in America as it relates to the growth and development of this country. This can also help us to understand and appreciate the courage and strength millions of enslaved African men, women, and children had to possess in order to endure, overcome, and fight against the physical and psychological terrors of slavery. It educates us on the tremendous abuse and murder that was leveled on humans for over 300 years to build the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of this world.”
Participants will explore original artifacts from the Era of Enslavement in the United States from the Gore Collection. educators will be able to view up close, documents such as tax receipts from the sale of human beings and the passing of property from one generation to the next as a part of a much larger system. As we learn from the Gore Collection, curated by the Black Voice Foundation, we will ask several questions including: If presented the opportunity, would you choose to be on the right or wrong side of history?
Historical empathy then refers to the ability to perceive, emotionally experience, and thus better contextualize a historical figure's lived experience.
“In other words, when reading a text about a historical figure's plight, you'll go beyond simply intellectually acknowledging or recalling the facts of their existence and experiences. Instead, you'll be able to understand how that person felt, thought, how they acted, why they acted that way, and what consequences they might have faced in their unique historical and social context. We can simplify historical empathy as truly putting yourself in the shoes of a figure in the past.”
study.com
