Activity 2.4

• Look closely at each of these artifacts.
• Think carefully about the previous discussion of the definition of “heritages of change” and “marginalized heritage.”
• Consider the context of each of these artifacts. Please look up information as needed.
• Decide why each one should be considered cultural heritage of change.
• Assign each artifact one or more types of cultural heritage: tangible, intangible, natural.

Food for Thought: Activity 2.4 Artifacts

After reading the following notes and questions to consider, determine if you change your decision about why each artifact is heritage of change and what type of cultural heritage it is.

Resisting Retraumatization

At the beginning of this chapter, there is a content warning. It is provided because some of the issues discussed in this chapter can be difficult for those with direct, indirect, or historical emotional connections to them. Retraumatization is “reliving stress reactions experienced as a result of a traumatic event when faced with a new, similar incident […] A current experience is subconsciously associated with the original trauma, reawakening memories and reactions, which can be distressing” (“Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event: Coping with Retraumatization”). Revisiting traumatic heritage, even with the best of intentions, can result in retraumatization, either of the audience or in ourselves, and we need to be aware of how we work with and present that heritage.

Mass Humanities provides a “Trauma Informed Discussion Guide” for their annual events “Reading Frederick Douglass Together.” They acknowledge that listening to or reading Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” “forces us to reckon with the legacy of slavery and the promise of democracy” and “discussing its content and context can result [in] racial or historical traumatization and re-traumatization for participants and audience members.” Resisting retraumatization is part of trauma-informed practices (TIP). The Mental Health Commission of Canada suggests tips for doing so, which include “be[ing] aware that the stories you tell can create trauma for someone else” and “allow[ing] the listener to prepare.” Understanding the traumatic aspects of heritage can help us be aware of their effect on others, and practices such as the content warning at the beginning of this chapter allow individuals to prepare for interaction with traumatic issues.

“What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.” – Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” (1852)