Ancestors of Worthy Life

“A tour de force. Moyer goes beyond critique to give us a richly contextualized study, demonstrating that inclusive interpretation of plantation and other historic house museum sites can be done and that the failure to do so is a political act rooted in systemic racism.”—David T. Palmer, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

“An uncommonly detailed, frank, and balanced discussion of racialized practice at a historic site museum.”—Kirsti Uunila, historic preservation planner, Calvert County, Maryland

“Teresa Moyer’s book serves as an important bridge between the work of history, archaeology and modern activism: it gives a structure of how to begin to change the telling of the past.”—Anthropology Book Forum

“Moyer’s case study of the historic house museum of Mount Clare plantation is a boldly put, compelling call to action that embeds in its traditional site interpretation a more fully developed narrative of its black enslaved occupants. Her premise is that access to black heritage within the context of plantation life and its aftermath is a social right.”—Journal of American History

“In addition to being a well-defined case study, this volume has wide implications for the field of public history. Moyer does a fine job situating the history of Mount Clare within larger historical contexts, and, most importantly, shining a light on the social justice imperative of sharing more inclusive historical narratives.”—Public Historian

“This valuable book joins . . . other works calling for a more inclusive and just tackling of race at American historic sites.”—Journal of Southern History

“In this well researched and pointedly critical book, Teresa S. Moyer has brought into view a failure that affects many museums, particularly those of the Southern United States, but also anywhere that slavery was part of America’s economic base.”—Museum Anthropology Review

“A moving and meticulous black history at Mount Clare, and a thorough and convincing analysis of the role of power in the production of history.”—American Anthropologist