Tour of an American Slavery Museum

In planning my third trip to New Orleans, spending a day on a plantation tour was high on my to-do list. But, I wanted the experience to be more than a photo-op in front of a southern mansion. My research quickly turned up Whitney Plantation, the first museum dedicated to American slavery. 

The 2,000-acre sugar plantation dates back to 1752 when it was developed by German immigrants Ambroise Haydel and his wife.

According to the plantation’s website, it stayed in their family for 115 years, before being “sold to Bradish Johnson of New York, who named the property after his grandson, Harry Whitney.”

Fast forward to the early 2000s, and John Cummings, a successful lawyer from New Orleans, purchases the property as a real estate investment.

Over time, he realizes how little he knows about the history of the slaves who once worked on such properties.

And as he learns more, he decides to invest millions of dollars of his own money into turning the plantation into a…