Questioning America

The first thing you notice at the National Museum of African American History and Culture is that everyone is trying to be so nice, especially the white people. ‘Excuse me’s’ flutter like confetti, an invisible murmuring of apology for standing in front of someone and for everything else that’s ever happened.  It’s unconscious, reflexive almost, and one wonders why the deference to history doesn’t play out in the rest of life. It’s as if we can only get it here in the lowest level of the museum studying the intricate drawings of how human cargo was arranged and stacked on slave ships.

There were different strategies, you know. Some slave ship captains packed people very tightly, figuring that even with high death rates they would still realize a profit. Others opted for a looser pack, thinking that fewer would die en route, thus ensuring a higher profit. I bet the…