By Kevin Lee Associate Editor

One of the benefits of studying history is the potential perspective it gives us. Hindsight is advantageous.

It also gives us a chance to face the unsavory aspects of our past and to learn from them.

For the first time, Mobilians have the prospect to see part of that difficult but vital catharsis at the Museum of Mobile while Captive Passage: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the Americas resides in the facilities on Royal Street. The exhibit, organized in cooperation with the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City , the National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside in Liverpool and the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Va., is making its first stop in our region.

Captive Passage was a bit pricier than preceding traveling exhibits, but appears worth the cost. The picture of our nation’s past it provides is still taxing: that our history has been inexorably mired with the concept of race and divisions caused by it. That simple fact haunts us in Mardi Gras festivities on Saturday night and in the pews on Sunday morning.

Museum officials claim the number of school tours has picked up substantially and they hope the trend continues for the exhibit’s stay through Sept. 3. “You know this isn’t a blockbuster exhibit, it’s more an educational one,” said Sheila Flanagan, Interim Director of the Museum of Mobile.

Flanagan stepped into the director’s role in the wake of former director George Ewert’s sudden resignation in June of 2006. It is her second time in the position.

“I haven’t had any surprises thus far,” Flanagan said. “You know we’re still technically in recovery from Katrina. We’re still dealing with it and will be for years.” The historic storm pushed a storm surge up Mobile Bay that flooded the lower level of the museum and closed it for six months. Water damage and mold required the demolition and restoration of the building that once housed Mobile’s city government.

“We were fortunate, though, compared to the people in Mississippi,” Flanagan said. “Museums there lost everything.”

The director claims the exhibits weathered the setback well. “Our artifacts are well-sealed,” she said. “We didn’t lose anything.”

Though it’s Flanagan’s second time in the director’s chair, the Mobile native still bears the distinction of being the first African-American director of a major museum in the Port City. She said she doesn’t feel pressure from the designation but it certainly adds to the responsibility she already feels at the helm. “We’ve got over 80,000 artifacts here,” she said. “It’s a big job being the caretaker of three centuries of Mobile history.”

Other immediate needs arise now. “Staffing and marketing have been our biggest challenges so far,” Flanagan said.

She is quick to pass credit for Captive Passage to another colleague. “Terry Price, our former curator of exhibits, was the one who made this happen by working with the Mariners,” Flanagan said.

Captive Passage has also opened doors for other Mobilians. Prior to the exhibit’s arrival, Flanagan was aware of local collectors of African artwork and artifacts. Opportunity beckoned. “I knew Merceria (Ludgood) had some stuff from when she was over in Africa and I contacted her,” she said. “I thought this would be a great chance to show off some of our local collectors.”

The resulting display of tribal artifacts, encountered upon entry, gives face to the tally of slavery’s victims and underscores the brutality of the system.

Flanagan acknowledges how rare it is for a city to have its own history museum, but few American cities bear the history Mobile does. She sees the surprise of locals when they tour the facilities. “There’s so many people,” she said, ” who are just astonished when they come through, that say they didn’t realize we had a museum like this here.”

However, Flanagan sees room for growth in the museum. “It’s a personal mission for me to bring people in that aren’t already here,” she said, “and to tell all the stories that are there to be told. It’s also our mission to make the museum a household word.”

Those goals might become more concrete with a five-year plan due to be implemented after Captive Passage departs. Flanagan didn’t tip her hand as to the particulars of the plan but seems to have faith in it.

In the meanwhile, she sees an increase in memberships as a pressing target. Flanagan can also foresee the need for a development officer if the museum is to find its mark.

It all seems a bit unexpected for someone who first arrived at the museum as a University of South Alabama grad student asked to guest curate. Flanagan’s responsibilities grew, she never left and doesn’t anticipate doing so anytime soon. “I’ll be an artifact, believe me,” she laughed.

Kevin Lee is Lagniappe associate editor. Contact him at klee@lagniappemobile.com.

Archives