Charleston’s Heritage Tourism: The Shock That is Needed

Charleston’s Heritage Tourism: The Shock That is Needed

Charleston is well known for its beauty.  Located on the coast, the city is a popular destination for tourists who are focused on seeing the sights, finding entertainment and/or who are attracted to the area’s rich history and heritage.  As part of a graduate class from UNC Charlotte, it was my pleasure to play the role of the tourist and experience a carriage ride in the city, as well as a tour of the Magnolia Plantation.  I was most interested in the history, in particular the role of the region as part of the history of our national and regional history.  However, it could be argued that this cannot be said of most.  Therefore, while many criticize the tourist industry for ‘whitewashing’ the history of the region -the premise of which I agree – it is also important to understand why this is so, so that perhaps we can figure out what can be done to stop it.

Of the two – the carriage tour of the city and the personal tour of the Magnolia Plantation – the carriage ride was more entertaining.  On the surface, it was nice to be in the open air, to see a place up close and to have a tour guide who was steeped in the legends and public histories of the Charleston.   Where else could I hear stories of a brothel that didn’t allow anyone under the age of fourteen to enter or of metal pins that were installed in older buildings so they wouldn’t collapse (at least until the next earthquake comes by)?  The Magnolia Plantation also had its moments, but on more of a professional level: a movie about the ‘history’ of the area and personal stories of the plantation and the ’emancipation’ of the slaves that worked there.   Having said all of this, from a purely historical and anthropological point of view, it is an understatement to say that the tours were disappointing.  The fact that there was so little authentic historical knowledge presented, especially on the carriage ride, made me wonder why these tours should be labeled ‘historical’ at all; ‘sightseeing’  would be more appropriate.  Personally, I believe it’s more detrimental to whitewash the past than to omit a part of it.  The carriage ride committed a lot of omissions, especially in regards to the history of slavery and the contributions of slaves to the history we heard and the buildings we saw.  However, the transgressions of the plantations, of creating an inauthentic past that was as egregious as it was innocuous, were nearly unforgiveable.   The idea that slaves didn’t have it so bad, that we treated them right, that they were given the opportunity to be ‘wage earners’, that they were almost part of the plantation family completely omits the one piece of complete truth – they were slaves.  They were people who did not have the basic freedoms of doing what they wanted to do, living where they wanted to live and living how they wanted to.  Add to that the structural animosity towards black people at the time, and a narrative that even smells of equality is automatically inauthentic and false.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

So what can be done?  If the Magnolia Plantation and the carriage tours did not exist, the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a snapshot in time that can breathe life into history would be lost. At the other extreme, if tourists were constantly bombarded with the history of racism, oppression and subjugation that are an important part of our national heritage, the perception of the area’s historical significance and the tourism industry, such an important part of the area’s economic prosperity, would probably take a big hit.   How many tourists want to hear incessantly about how their ancestors subjugated and oppressed an entire race, when they’re looking forward to enjoying the attractions and night life that the history of slavery inadvertently helped produce?   I could imagine that these might have been the concerns of local politicians long ago, who were deciding upon the initial fate of any plan to encourage tourism to the area.  How does a heritage site provide entertainment and a (superfluous) education while at the same time keep up the pretense of being historical?

I would like offer an option, one that will never be tried because of its inherent risk to the image of the local area and the prosperity that tourism affords.  Stop whitewashing the past and shock them.  While there is much talk about the fear of making the inauthentic authentic, I would argue that it’s the length of time with which people are faced with the harsh truth that makes them squirm and feel uncomfortable.  So, shock them.  At the Magnolia Plantation, there is nothing wrong with taking them to the buildings where slaves lived and talk about the past.  However, one could add something – chains hanging from a post where slaves were beaten, for example – that symbolizes what really occurred, something that will make it so tourists never forget the truth about slavery.  Shock them. Sensationalize.  While some may see this as being hypocritical, there is a difference between erasing a chunk of our nation’s history and accentuating different aspects to bring tourists’ attention to it.  As for the carriage tour, it is highly probable that tourists do want a nice carriage ride where they can look at bolts and listen to funny stories about the past.  However there is nothing that says proprietors can’t stop the carriage, take the tourists out, and for a few minutes look at a monument or market and bring people’s attention to the dark side of the past.  There probably isn’t any place on earth that doesn’t have something in their past that they’d rather forget.  So shock them.  Address it.  Give tourists a few minutes to soak in the truth about the past, to reflect and to ask questions and then move on.  Perhaps this isn’t ideal, and there is definitely a need to organize different tours with different historical foci and tourists in mind.  However, if slavery can be brought to life just for a few moments, then maybe tourists would have something to think about on their way back to their hotel and their way back home.

In our Heritage Tourism class, we have talked about the commoditization of experience, and I would argue that a shocking one, even though it may be appalling to some, might be one that tourists are willing to pay for.  We’ve also discussed how these experiences can be brought back home as a type of souvenir that people can share with others.   Perhaps, then, the trinket tourists bring home is not a post card or Native American Pipe or woven basket, but rather a few experiences that made tourists think for a second.  In the end, both the Magnolia Plantation and the carriage rides were entertaining, but the way the respective histories were whitewashed reminded me of the importance of history. Whenever I hear of history being altered for the benefit of tourists, I think of literature like “1984” and the ways in which oppressive regimes use history as a tool of submission and control.   Although it would probably be risky – to the tourism industry and to the people of the Charleston area – I’ll say it again – shock them.  Leave them with a memory that they can’t shake.  Maybe then Charleston will have a tourism industry that is economically beneficially but educational as well.