Cultural heritage sites are portals in time, transcending the centuries to reach out and speak to individuals today to remind them about the triumphs and horrors of the past. Goree Island embodies this influential role that heritage sites play in our modern world, reminding people to honor and remember the legacy of the treacherous Transatlantic slave trade. Once the “largest slave-trading center on the African Coast,” Goree Island is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, measuring 4 km in length with roughly 1600 inhabitants. The site has been transformed into a “memory island” to honor the people who lost their lives in the slave trade and to create a path forward in reconciliation and understanding so that, as Mr. Eloi Coly, curator of the House of Slaves, stated, “history never repeats itself.”
Situated on one of the Westernmost points on the West African coast, the island was a strategic location for the trade of enslaved Africans beginning in the 1440s for the Portuguese, English, Dutch, and French, who all sought control over the island. While exact figures are disputed, it is presumed that over a million enslaved individuals came through the island before being transported to the Americas and sold at auctions across the colonies.
During my visit, I saw the Portuguese fort, the House of Slaves, and the European-built village inhabited by the local population. While the island is under the protection of the United Nations, many buildings are falling into disrepair, and rising sea levels threaten its coastline. The House of Slaves is the most notable site, offering a unique perspective on the transatlantic slave trade. It flips the modern narrative of museum decolonization upside down, representing the legacy of colonization from the perspective of the ex-colonized Africans. Rather than needing to deconstruct colonial perspectives, the museum already challenges visitor’s preconceptions about Africa and the narratives of its people.
Strategically built along the coast with access to the ocean, the House of Slaves contained two floors: the lower contained the grim rooms where enslaved Africans were held, and the upper was a luxurious space for the slave traders. Now a place of reflection and memory, it contains descriptive plaques describing the house's role in filling the cotton fields and sugarcane plantations in North and South America with human labor.
Rooted in the goal of being a “sanctuary for reconciliation,” social change and activism are essential to the museum’s message and objective. The museum contains a unique relationship with African American visitors, as local guides repeatedly said “Welcome home” and told them stories of their ancestors. Indeed, Goree Island is now a pilgrimage site for the African Diaspora community. The museum's curator described the resilience of the African people facing their journey to the Americas; “When we sing, we remember where we are from and who we are. We never forgot our home.” The Door of No Return, the pathway from the House of Slaves to the old pier, symbolizes the African Diaspora – “the place Africans last felt their identity, culture, family, and sense of self.” The museum also contains opportunities to engage with the public. A chalkboard hangs where one could answer, “What places should be sites of conscience in your country?” This opportunity made the visitors, who were primarily of European descent, ponder sites in their homes that played a role in the slave trade.
Visiting the House of Slaves and walking around the island, I felt curiosity and sadness - I was shocked to learn about how people were kidnapped from the hinterland of Africa and how families were divided to be sold in different colonies. It was poignant to see the local people refer to the African American tourists as “auntie, uncle, and cousin.” From a Public History perspective, the museum could improve by adding descriptions in English and providing more participatory experiences.
My journey to Goree Island was a profound experience that reshaped my understanding of history and its impact on our present. The cultural heritage site and museum offered a unique perspective on the transatlantic slave trade, which was brutal and horrific yet also a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. This visit underscored the importance of public history, empowering individuals to engage with the past in a way that can lead to lasting change.
The chalkboard where visitors are asked to reflect on cultural heritage sites in their home countries that were involved in the slave trade.
Bibliography
Cauvin, Thomas. Public History: A Textbook of Practice. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016.
Coly, Mr. Eloi. “Speech by the Curator of the Museum of the House of Slaves.”Interview by Kaitlin Murray, April 2024.
UNESCO World Heritage Convention. “Island of Gorée.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed April 17, 2024. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/26/.
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