Town Hall Reflection

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Throughout the Town Hall meeting regarding slavery, there were tons of interesting statements everyone made. I was on the anti-slavery side, which I personally believed was easier to support. It was very interesting to see all the pro-slavery roles. When most of the pro-slavery roles were done speaking you could tell how they were not fully comfortable with what they said. Although we were supposed to take on these roles and express ourselves as if we were in their shoes, it was very hard to fully commit to some people. But how could you blame them? Many kids after the town hall meeting were over even spoke about how they did not fully feel comfortable with what they were saying.

I wondered if people who truly supported slavery took on these pro-slavery roles, would it have changed the expression and message coming from these people? Many of the reasons and support each of the pro-slavery actors used were very similar to each other in a way. I felt like they all ultimately referred back to production and a working system as their reason. The actors always said how without the slaves there would be no cotton, food, supplies, etc.

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I almost felt like pro-slavery people didn't realize how much they actually were dependent on these slaves. Without the slaves, the whole system would turn into chaos. Perhaps slaves were not just argued against because they were black but because they were the only way most people, most white people could function. 

Something I acknowledged being on the anti-slavery side was when we went up to play our role as these historical figures, we said it proudly with passion. This is why I felt like pro-slavery roles were more tuff to take on and fully commit to because it's so hard to even pretend to support slavery. Each of our speeches was tied together for similar reasons just like the pro-slavery roles were. I believe our ultimate connection was that slaves need to be treated equally. The entire anti-slavery side was also able to back most of their statements with actions their historical figures acted on as well.

One major thing I was thinking about toward the end of the Town Hall meeting was, has any of these major historical figures ever turned from anti-slavery to pro-slavery. I know many major historical figures have turned from pro-slavery to anti-slavery, but what caused these major changes? One thing I enjoyed learning throughout the entire Town Hall meeting was a little bit of background of each historic figure. Each person said just enough information for a person to actually retain it all.

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It was also interesting to see how many people after the Town Hall meeting was over would converse with the other side about each other's statements about what they liked and did not like. In our next Town Hall meeting, I would love to see a combination of two things, role-playing with gen-z. It would be very interesting to act out as a historical figure while using modern technology, props, slide shows, etc. This could help really push each person to fully commit to their roles and maximize each individual's ultimate outcome. 

                                           Harriet Tubman says Peace Out!

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