contact
Maison des Esclaves
P.O. Box 29
Île de Gorée
Senegal
Tel: 221-33-821-7438
Fax: 221-33-821-7438
African Sites of Conscience Network
Dialogues for Democracy
The Challenge
The Slave House has become an international symbol of the horrors of racial slavery. It is a renowned pilgrimage site for heads of state and ordinary people from around the world looking to come to terms with this infamous system and its legacy. Because it was a system that implicated so many countries, it attracts a diverse international audience. In one moving space, it brings together people with dramatically different relationships to the history and perspectives on its legacy. In the experience of the director, “white people arrive feeling a sense of responsibility or guilt, while black people arrive feeling victimized.” In one tour group, the different responses and perspectives of diverse can threaten to further emphasize the divides between them.
The Dialogues for Democracy Questions
- How was it possible for the slave trade to develop? Under what conditions does slavery flourish?
- How can we prevent it from happening again?
- What is slavery and what is freedom?
- What forms of slavery exist today?
- What can I do to fight for freedom?
The Program
The Slave House is developing a program in which a guide and facilitator will bring visitors through the different spaces master and slave occupied together in the Slave House: the inhuman slave cells and the masters’ quarters just above them. They will see the last image these Africans ever had of their native soil: the door of no return, the passage slaves traversed before boarding the ships that took them to the Americas, or to their death. After their tour, the guide will facilitate a discussion among visitors about why they came and how the visit affected them. Building from these emotional responses, the facilitator will address the central questions outlined above. Further, the Slave House will provide information about other forms of slavery existing in the world today and what groups are working to address them, as well as other attempts to build racial cooperation and reconciliation.
Impact
The Slave House hopes to use this internationally recognized, powerful space to build connections among people with different relationships to the history of slavery and inspire them to work together to build a stronger humanity for the future.