A key element of slave revolts was the organising of the uprising by groups of trusted individuals clandestinely plotting. Mirroring this, Slave Rebellion Reenactment will start with small organising meetings. Slave rebels reenactors ‘recruited’ this way will be given material about the rebellion and asked to take the history to others, themselves taking up the roll of recruiter and articulating their own reasons why this history and reenactment is important. The project will transition from my vision and become the vision of hundreds of collaborators.
Reenactors will be drawn from Xavier University, a Historically Black University, and other local communities that are invested in this history. My initial meetings with students have resulted in the recruitment of some to be reenactors. Wendell Pierce (actor, The Wire) is also a participant.
In America, most social statistics reflect a legacy of slavery. Rather than feeling shame of this history or even just the horror of it, SRR will enable descendants of enslaved people to deeply internalise that their ancestors resisted enslavement. It will provide new ways for participants and viewers to think of the past and its relation to our moment, and will lead to new pathways for people to conceive freedom and the means to achieve it.