Episode 295: Ibrahima Seck, Whitney Plantation Museum

by Liz CovartFebruary 16, 2021

Play episode

What does it take to create a museum?

How can a museum help visitors grapple with a very uncomfortable aspect of their nation’s past?

Ibrahima Seck, a member of the History Department at the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal, author of the book, Bouki Fait Gombo: A History of the Slave Community of Habitation Haydel (Whitney Plantation) Louisiana, 1750-1860, and the Director of Research of the Whitney Plantation museum, leads us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Whitney Plantation and the history of slavery in early Louisiana.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Ben Franklin’s World is a production of the Omohundro Institute.

Episode Summary

Ibrahima Seck is a member of the History Department at the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal, the author of Bouki Fait Gombo: A History of the Slave Community of Habitation Haydel (Whitney Plantation) Louisiana, 1750-1860, and the Director Research of the Whitney Plantation Museum in Louisiana.

As we go behind-the-scenes of Whitney Plantation and through the history of slavery in early Louisiana, Ibrahima reveals details about the creation of the Whitney Plantation Museum; Strategies the Whitney Plantation Museum employs to help its visitors grapple with the very tough subject of slavery; And, lots of information about the history and development of Whitney Plantation and about the enslaved who worked and lived on the plantation.

What You’ll Discover

The creation of the Whitney Plantation Museum
The need for a museum to interpret the lives of the enslaved
Ambrose Heidel, Founder of Whitney Plantation
German settlement in French Louisiana
Crops of the Whitney Plantation
The indigo plant
How sugar plantations came to Louisiana
The origins of the enslaved of Whitney Plantation
Rice and its importance in early Louisiana
West African contributions to early Louisiana agriculture
Slave drivers or commanders
French record-keeping
Daily life routines for the enslaved at Whitney Plantation
Different types of work performed on Whitney Plantation
Local plantation economy
Domestic lives of the enslaved
African cultural contributions to colonial Louisiana
How African culture helped to build the culture & identity of the United States
A tour of Whitney Plantation
Memorials at Whitney Plantation
Work of enslaved children
1811 German Coast Louisiana slave revolt
Slave resistance
Runaway slaves and maroons
Why the United States needs to grapple with its slave past

Links to People, Places, and Publications

Sponsor Links

Support Ben Franklin's World

Join Us!! Become a Ben Franklin’s World Member. Subscribe and help us bring history right to your ears!

Complementary Episodes

Time Warp Question

In your opinion, how might the history of Whitney Plantation and slavery in Louisiana have been different if the German Coast Uprising had been successful?