{"id":39,"date":"2020-11-11T16:06:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T16:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/honoring-enslaved\/?page_id=39"},"modified":"2026-04-09T18:53:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:53:37","slug":"about-commemorative","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.smcm.edu\/honoring-enslaved\/about-commemorative\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Commemorative"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland provides visitors with the space to acknowledge and learn from the lives of those who once toiled here, while providing a place for reflection and introspection about the nature of slavery and its connections to modern society.\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Learn and
\n\t\tReflect with Us<\/h2>\n

\nSo we may better understand the world in which we live, it is important to learn from and reflect upon the experiences of people who were enslaved and had to fight for their freedom.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

[soliloquy id=\"41\"]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Inspiration<\/h3>\n
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\nThrough historical documents, archaeological research, and slave folklore, the Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland acknowledges the past while honoring the enslaved people who lived on this land, recontextualizing how we examine our shared history. The inclusion of erasure poetry on a structure inspired by the \u201cghost frame\u201d architecture at Historic St. Mary\u2019s City provides an opportunity to change the dialogue around slavery in Southern Maryland. \n<\/p>\n

\nThe \u201cghost frames\u201d at St. Mary\u2019s City provide inspiration for the Commemorative\u2019s structure as they are not fully formed buildings but placeholders, evoking a feeling of being caught in between \u2014 in time and space. They capture the idea of transition and of incompleteness, of being here but not here. They signify a far-away past, but also suggest there is much more waiting for us to experience and understand. \n<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\nA commemorative can be a reflective piece, but it can call you to action and make you think about something that is positive there. It can affect how you live your life going forward.\u201d
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-President Emerita Tuajuanda C. Jordan<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\nUnlike a fully recreated artifact such as whole slave cabins and villages erected to provide the public with a glimpse into historical life \u2014 the Commemorative invites us to fill in the blanks. The Commemorative uses the slave quarter as a symbol of resilience, determination, and persistence. This message is reinforced by our inability to enter the Commemorative structure. As the slave quarters shielded the lives of the slaves from the enslavers, acting as both a refuge and a prison, the Commemorative too shields this private space. Not only can we not see inside but the structure reflects our gaze back on us. It does not remove us from everyday life as a historical village might, but allows us to contemplate how slavery affects us today: our biases, our legislation, how our government works, and how we as a nation deal with this very difficult past. It begs us to interpret these experiences through many different lenses. \n<\/p>\n

\nThe field and surrounding natural environment are living evidence of the plantation that once existed here. With this knowledge, the choice to build the Commemorative in this field and next to the Jamie L. Robert Stadium was deliberate. In addition to being only a few paces from where the original cabin stood, the Commemorative sits along the path that visitors use to go to games and events at the stadium. Placed where it is, it is impossible to ignore \u2014 proof that the lives the Commemorative seeks to honor are no longer buried beneath an athletic field. At night, the field acts as a canvas for the light that radiates out of the Commemorative, acting as an eternal vigil to the enslaved people who once lived, loved, worked, and resisted in this place.\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Revealing the Power of Erasure Poetry<\/h3>\n\n

\nErasure poetry is a form of found poetry that is created by erasing, or redacting, words from an existing piece of prose or verse. The redactions allow poets to create symbolism while also putting a focus on the social and political meanings of erasure. New questions, suggestions, and meanings in existing pieces of writing are revealed through erasure poetry. \n<\/p>\n\n

\nThe erasure poetry that covers the structure is adapted from historical documents related to the Mackall-Brome plantation \u2014 one of three known plantations located on the land around St. Mary\u2019s City. These documents include slave property and runaway slave advertisements, newspaper articles, and slave depositions of the Mackall-Brome family. These poems become the walls and roof of the structure revealing powerful stories hidden within the language of a dark past. \n<\/p>\n\n\n