Anti-Racism & Archaeological Practice at Montpelier

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Race, Racism, and Montpelier" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Archaeologists studying the African American experience have a responsibility to not only examine the complicated relationships and emergence of race and racism in the past, but also its legacy in the present. This is particularly true when this research is done as part of a public archaeology program, especially one that claims to engage with African Americans. We have a responsibility to examine our own personal and institutional biases towards and relationships with race and racism and seek outside input. This critical practice moves our research and interpretations further from racial bias. At The Montpelier Foundation, the Archaeology Department has committed itself to adopting anti-racist policies to guide our collaborative archaeological research, staffing and training, and public interpretation. This paper will discuss the policies and procedures that the archaeology department has enacted to try to move towards an anti-racist archaeology and the resistance we faced in this process.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Race, Racism, and Montpelier   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology