In 1811, the Gulf Coast of the newly-annexed territory of Louisiana had 70 sugar plantations. The enslaved people working those plantations, who outnumbered whites five to one, had shorter life spans than any other slave community in North America. Inspired by the revolutions in France and Haiti, a group of plantation workers led the largest slave uprising in American history on January 8-10. The group marched more than 20 miles toward New Orleans, and grew to between 200 and 500 people along the way. Some 40-45 slaves were killed in the final battle, and dozens of others were executed in the aftermath. Their heads were displayed on pikes as a warning against rebellion.
In 2019, hundreds of re-enactors will commemorate the uprising on November 8th and 9th by marching 26 miles along the original route. The Slave Rebellion Reenactment is an art project by Dread Scott and will be recorded by filmmaker John Akomfrah.
The artwork will involve hundreds of reenactors in period specific clothing marching for two days covering 26 miles. The reenactment, the culmination of a period of organizing and preparation, will take place upriver from New Orleans in the locations where the 1811 revolt occurred—the exurban communities and industry that have replaced the sugar plantations will be its backdrop. The reenactment will be an impressive and startling sight—hundreads of Black re-enactors, many on horses, flags flying, in 19th-century French colonial garments, singing in Creole and English to African drumming.
A key element of slave revolts was the organizing of the uprising by small groups of trusted individuals, clandestinely plotting with others in small cells. Mirroring this structure, SRR will initiate several recruitment and organizing meetings of multiple small groupings of people to prepare the reenacted uprising. Extending the artwork’s performative reenactment of history, the meetings will take the form of conversations about why people choose to participate, about others they might involve, and why this history is important in contemporary society. The self-organization of the slave rebel reenactors is an essential part of the artwork.
There was limited fighting during the 1811 rebellion, so, in contrast to many war reenactments, much of SRR will be a procession, with only occasional skirmishes. The procession will be jarringly out of place as they advance past neighborhoods, strip malls, and oil refineries. This historic anomaly will form a cognitive dissonance for viewers, opening space for people to rethink long held assumptions.
Scott says they will not re-enact the massacre at the end of the uprising, but will offer other ways to learn about the rebellion in New Orleans. Read about the Slave Rebellion Reenactment project at its website. -via Metafilter