Confronting the Truth of Slavery's Legacy
To what extent does skin color determine destiny? How does a country founded on liberty justify slavery? The recipient of multiple awards and accolades for its honest portrayal of the legacies of slavery, “The Mere Distinction of Colour” at James Madison's Montpelier explores the relationship between the generations of African Americans who lived on this plantation and the larger story of slavery within American history itself.
Services
- Experience Design
- Content Development
- UX Design
- Software Development
- Graphic/Visual Design & Development
- 2D Animation
- Original Filming
In a dimly lit storeroom, the emotional first-person story of an enslaved woman whose family was torn apart after Madison's death comes to life in "Fate in the Balance." Interactive media stations include timelines, maps, archaeological finds, and thoughtful first-person insights on the experiences and reverberations of slavery.
square feet
interactives
multi-screen presentation
immersive projection experience
immersive audio programs
AAM MUSE Awards
designer collaboration with Proun Design
annual visitors
The powerful five-screen film, “Legacies of Slavery,” brings the past into the present, tackling how Americans talk about slavery and racism, coaxing viewers to reckon with their collective past. In grappling with difficult questions, the exhibit aims to encourage rethinking the American history we’re so often taught and do justice to the enslaved Americans whose history is ultimately also our own.
Madison’s views on slavery, the stories of enslaved people and their work on the planation, and the ways in which families were broken up after his death resonate in many places, including the orientation video... No visitor to Montpelier will leave without a sense that Montpelier, like other plantations, was a world created and inhabited by enslaved people, and that their stories are as important as those of the people who benefited from their labor...It should serve as a model for historic sites seeking to tell a more inclusive, problematic, and authentic history.
Experience it for yourself
James Madison’s 3 Big Ideas
Following close on the heels of “The Mere Distinction of Colour,” the Montpelier team asked Northern Light to create a short video highlighting some of James Madison’s most noteworthy contributions to the Constitution—and to make it smart and fun. The result: two youthful narrators and a fast-paced mix of animated imagery provides a fresh look at Madison’s genius and its ongoing relevance today.
