By Dana DiSante
Mount Vernon will open a new exhibition, Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, on Saturday, Oct. 1. The meticulously sourced exhibit compiles original accounts of the slaves who lived and worked at the historic estate.
Mount Vernon’s senior curator, Susan Schoelwer says many of the items will be familiar to returning visitors, however, they will appear in a new light and context. Schoelwer says the exhibit explores these items “from a different perspective and points of intersection between the Washingtons and the enslaved people who made the household run and the plantation operations run.” The mansion’s artifacts, such as silver pieces and porcelain glass, will be presented with the historical context of its connection to the enslaved people at Mount Vernon.
Historians at the Washington estate collected more than 35,000 documents dating back to the enslaved people at Mount Vernon, including all of Washington’s references to slaves in his papers. “Any time he referred to the work of an enslaved person, clothing allotment or items purchased for slaves,” Schoelwer says, it appears in Lives Bound Together.
In addition to the new slavery exhibition, there will be supplementary events that offer insight into the people who lived and worked at the Washington’s’ mansion. Visitors can attend an academic conference on Oct. 1 and a tour named Enslaved People of Mount Vernon that allows guests to participate in the new exhibit.
Lives Bound Together will remain at Mount Vernon until 2018. To buy tickets, visit the website.
