Objections to Black Heritage signs are both ‘disingenuous and telling’
Maybe we need to question what goals a calcified and monochromatic version of town furthers.
Is there a parent among us who does not feel it is wrong when their child is made to feel insignificant or overlooked? We all need to be seen. We are all entitled to respect. And we all wish to be treated as if our presence matters. Nonetheless, the creation of a Black Heritage Trail designed to make more visible the contributions of people who have been underrepresented in our town has been met with significant resistance.
This is disappointing, to say the least. Rationales about signs being too big or blocking the facades of buildings are both disingenuous and telling. How, after all, is it possible for a sign exponentially smaller than a building to conceal its exterior?
By stalling the circulation of new educational materials designed to enrich history, we risk belittling some of Acton’s past residents even as we impoverish our collective understanding.
Bracketing questions of ethics, it seems to me simply more interesting to be provided with a richer historical narrative. Walking past a building and being apprised of new information about the events that have taken place in its vicinity can be enlivening and thought-provoking.
Maybe we need to question what goals a calcified and monochromatic version of town (and by extension, U.S. history) furthers. Who does a stinting version of history make small? And who does it enlarge, by diminishing a portion of a larger story?
Anne Goldman
Nashoba Road
