Lest We Forget Slavery Museum

Submitted by joshuaferris t3_zs73ub in philadelphia

I have a few days off, and I went to the Lest We Forget Slavery Museum in Germantown. It is a fantastic museum. There are no walkins, so you need to schedule your visit before going. Today it was going to be me and some other family, but they seemed to have canceled last minute. The museum's Executive Director, Gwen Ragsdale, gave me a tour/presentation of the museum.

I was not sure what to expect, but the tour of the 2-room museum took 2 hours. Gwen has a vast amount of information to relay during this time. She paints a vivid and horrifying portrait of American slavery. The museum has several artifacts, referred to as "slave hardware." Chains, shackles, collars, etc. All authentic, and the only words I can use to describe these items and hearing the metal scraping when picked is grotesque and terrifying.

I highly recommend checking this museum out if you have not. It was certainly worth 2 hours of my day. Gwen is not just an excellent guide but a fantastic storyteller. I do a bit of guiding as a side hustle, and I can only dream of having her skill at it. The museum costs $20 per person.

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Moose2157 t1_j172gqr wrote

Embarrassed to admit that I’ve never heard of this museum. Thanks for highlighting it.

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owwweee t1_j175x9i wrote

I haven’t either. Thank you to OP for making this post to spread the word.

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Zhuul t1_j18bj22 wrote

Speaking of, I was also pleasantly surprised when I visited the Liberty Bell earlier this year on a whim to find that the subject of slavery and cognitive dissonance isn’t shied away from, like at all. At least half of the exhibit is dedicated to the perspectives of various marginalized and victimized demographics throughout our country’s history.

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DisciplineShot2872 t1_j18vta0 wrote

I'm a recent transplant from the Southwest and have been pleasantly surprised that the history of African American, Native American, and other minority groups isn't glossed over here. In particular, the excavation and information about the slave quarters under the original presidential mansion was eye opening to me. I'm happy it isn't being swept under the rug or white washed away.

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Zhuul t1_j18y5kr wrote

The NPS did an amazing job with it. Great nations don’t hide from their failures.

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DisciplineShot2872 t1_j18yzyd wrote

My thoughts exactly! We learn, we get better. Not everyone agrees unfortunately. Heaven forbid we accept that our predecessors were real people, with flaws, rather than mythic gods.

Edit: To be clear, owning slaves is waaaaay past being a flaw.

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sigma6d t1_j17dwzi wrote

If I’m not mistaken, Gwen was at a presentation on slavery by Michael Coard (AKA the angriest black man in America) that I attended a number of years ago at the Molefi Kete Asante Institute (wikipedia) in Germantown. I failed to schedule a visit to the museum back then but your post is a helpful reminder.

As an aside, I was the only white dude there.

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laugust27 t1_j18cpsx wrote

I work at a nonprofit, and we just had a field trip there. I agree that Gwen is fantastic, and I highly recommend people go. The presentation was really powerful and touching. It is definitely worth a visit. Gwen and her husband founded and run the museum with objects they collected. You can tell they have a real passion.

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PhillyPanda t1_j17co4o wrote

Sounds really cool! I’d never heard of it and now it’s a to do

How did you hear about it?

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joshuaferris OP t1_j19ovu4 wrote

I read about it a few years ago. I don’t remember the context. It used to be in Port Richmond and moved to Germantown, so the article was likely in the context of that. I wanted to go, didn’t get around to it, and then the pandemic. I am curious about this museum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Doll_Museum

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