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Bath Township slavery reenactment gets second look

Posted at 11:20 PM, Aug 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-23 23:20:03-04

It’s an experience few could forget. Now, the group behind a northeast Ohio slavery reenactment is reconsidering how it operates the program in the wake of recent racially-charged incidents. That’s including the white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Western Reserve Historical Society President & CEO Kelly Falcone said a 20-year-old program called “A Fugitive’s Path” that enable participants to “play the role of fugitive slaves struggling to reach freedom in the north” may need revisions after some recent negative feedback.

“We have recent events that have changed the conversation, dramatically, so it’s a different world than it was in 1998,” Falcone said.

When asked if that meant changing the program or changing the message, Falcone replied, “Perhaps all of the above.”

But it won’t mean closing the program’s doors, Falcone said. After all, history has a way of repeating itself. That’s why she said “A Fugitive’s Path” will move forward, in a way that somehow fits with these still racially-charged times.

“But to try to interpret and simulate that experience, it’s very powerful for people,” she said. "And they don’t forget.”

The next program is scheduled for November and more information is posted on Facebook.