Latta Plantation’s future? The next step involves a field trip.
Two leading activists say they’re optimistic about the latest effort to change how slave history is presented at Latta Plantation, which was closed suddenly after its controversial promotion of a Junteenth event.
Mecklenburg County government officials and community leaders are traveling to 10 historic plantations in Virginia and South Carolina over the next month in hopes of gathering insight on how to move forward with programming at Latta, located in Huntersville.
In June, Historic Latta Plantation — which is owned by the county but has been managed by a nonprofit offering living history and education programs — promoted an event sympathetic to those who owned slaves in the wake of the Civil War, the Charlotte Observer previously reported. The event was timed to Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the United States — but referred to freed slaves as “former bondsmen.” The racist event description promised to tell the story of “white refugees” and defeated Confederate soldiers while inaccurately minimizing an unnamed slaveowner to an “overseer” and referred to him as “massa.”
The plantation quickly received widespread backlash — from the community through social media channels, as well as government officials, including Mayor Vi Lyles.
A few days later, the Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Department announced that the plantation would be closed until further notice, and that officials would “evaluate the best path forward” over the next few months. The county did not renew its contract with Historic Latta Place.
Civil rights activist Kass Ottley, who organized a protest at the plantation, said she wasn’t contacted to be a part of the efforts to reimagine use of the plantation grounds but was hopeful about the process.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Ottley said, adding that she wished the county leaders would also visit the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana.
Plantations, slave history
Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP leader Corine Mack organized a press conference immediately following the controversy, calling for the plantation to be shut down and for collaboration in moving forward. Mack said she was contacted by the county soon after to help plan next steps.
“They have been really phenomenal in understanding my concerns and the concerns of the ancestors of slaves,” she said. “And they understand how important it is that we get the historic story correct.”
A group of community leaders and county officials have met several times over Zoom, Mack said, and once in person at the plantation in August. Mack didn’t specify who else would be visiting the sites.
In Richmond, Va., they will visit the Westover Plantation, the Berkeley Plantation, the Shirley Plantation and Monticello. During the first week of November, they will tour the McLeod Plantation, the Old Slave Mart Museum, the Aiken-Rhett House, the Nathaniel Russell House, Drayton Hall and the Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, S.C.
“I hope we bring back a concept that’s inclusive to the foundation of transparency, truth and reconciliation,” she said. “That honestly is at the core of what we do, and we need to be looking at equity building.”
The officials will also meet with staff from Charleston County Parks and Recreation to talk about their model for the McLeod Plantation, according to a county spokeswoman.
They expect to provide a report to the Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners sometime during the first quarter of 2022.
Mack said before any decisions are made, the community will be invited to meetings where they can share their thoughts.
“This is not about letting anybody feel comfortable. It’s about dealing directly with enslaved people,” she said. “Whatever we do, it has to be something that’s sustainable and is accountable to create change for people of color and ancestors of enslaved people.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2021 at 1:52 PM.
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