"On October 10, 1994, two Black men and two Black women were led up the steps and onto the porch of an 18th-century tavern. They were made to stand in front of thousands of people as their bodies were examined by prospective buyers. An auctioneer informed the crowd that only gentlemen with appropriate letters of credit would be permitted to bid. Some in the crowd looked on in astonishment; some turned away and began to cry."
"The slave auction was the first and last of its kind. But it was hardly unique for Colonial Williamsburg in its blurring of the lines between performance and reality. In the '90s, visitors might encounter the sounds of human beings being whipped, or the sight of fugitive slaves trying to escape. Black actors would portray enslaved people while white actors portrayed men on slave patrol. A few visitors attacked the white actors, attempting to wrestle away their muskets."
On October 10, 1994, Colonial Williamsburg staged a realistic slave auction with two Black men and two Black women paraded before thousands while their bodies were examined and prospective buyers were told only gentlemen with letters of credit could bid. The performance provoked mixed reactions, including astonishment, crying, and protests by local Black community members who challenged officials and called attention to the pain inflicted. Curator Ron Hurst described the event as realistic and painful. The auction was the first and last of its kind, but the site previously staged other slavery scenes—whippings, fugitive slaves, enslaved actors and white slave-patrol portrayals—that sometimes provoked violent responses.
Read at The Atlantic
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