Museum of African American History и Black Heritage Trail: «Черное наследие» в современном Бостоне

Диалог со временем. 2022. № 81. С. 190–205.

Aleksandrov G.

The history of the African-American communitty is a subject that consistently draws attention from both scholars and the general public. In the recent decades the perception of “Black” history has changed considerably, due to, among other things, the influence of the memory policies consistently carried out by both the US government and a number of non-government actors, including various social and socio-political movements. The government-backed creation of new museums, monuments, education programs is supposed to introduce the public to the history of the african-american community, which remains largely unfamiliar to both white and, quite often, black americans. This inevitable creates a certain narrative of “black history”, stressing specific aspects of it, not necessarily the ones most related to pressing issues of the day. This article examines the representation of Black history in the dedicated public memory insitutions of the city of Boston (primarily the Museum of African-American History). Special attention is paid to the shortcomings of the existing museum exhibitions and tourist attractions, which limit the effectiveness these institutions as an instument of easing the ever-present social tensions, especially against the background of yet another crisis in inter-racial relations in the USA.

Keywords: историческая память, historic memory, Бостон, black heritage, Boston, черное наследие

Publication based on the results of: Anthropology and History: Evolution of Social Institutions, their Systems and Systemic Functions (2022)