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12-18-2006, 01:54 PM
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Pirate Ship Exhibit Plans Sail Into Controversy Over Slavery
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By BAIRD HELGESON The Tampa Tribune
Published: Nov 3, 2006
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TAMPA - A museum exhibit dedicated to a pirate ship would seem like a perfect fit for Tampa.
The city is the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and an annual festival to celebrate the Spanish pirate Jose Gaspar.
The Museum of Science & Industry's plan to open an exhibit about the pirate ship Whydah, however, reignited old racial tensions about a vessel that once carried slaves.
"How do you handle a subject matter this divisive as an entertainment attraction?" asked James Ransom, a member of the National Coalition of African American Organizations. "It's hurtful and painful."
Tampa officials nixed plans to bring a museum of artifacts from Whydah (pronounced WID-ah) in 1993 after the black community complained the display would belittle or diminish the history of slavery.
Officials had hoped the $70 million pirate museum could jump-start tourism along Tampa's Garrison Channel. Black business leaders, ministers and professors complained about being excluded before city leaders unveiled the plan.
MOSI President Wit Ostrenko hopes to ease tensions this time, and assembled a committee of black leaders to help design the exhibit. He pledged that the exhibition would be sensitive to their concerns.
"This is about pirates, not about slavery," Ostrenko said. "It won't glorify the escaped slaves that became pirates on the ship."
Hyping History
Some leaders in the black community said they suspect MOSI waded into the controversy at least partially to generate hype before the exhibit opens.
Ransom and others said MOSI effectively converted conflict surrounding "Bodies, The Exhibition" into financial success.
The exhibit, which featured human cadavers in real-life poses, set attendance records and brought in more than $1 million for MOSI.
The Florida Anatomical Board tried unsuccessfully to prevent Bodies from opening, saying the exhibit creator couldn't prove the subjects gave permission to have their cadavers used as exhibit displays.
Terry Davis, of the American Association of Museums, said MOSI is in a unique position of trying to compete with attractions such as Busch Gardens, The Florida Aquarium and Orlando theme parks.
"MOSI has to look for anything to distinguish it from the other attractions," she said.
That forces MOSI to challenge conventional ideas about what science museums are supposed to be, Davis said.
Ransom said MOSI has gone too far. "I understand MOSI needs to make a profit, but it should not be exploiting this story of slavery to do that," he said.
MOSI officials are negotiating with Arts and Exhibitions International to have the exhibit's world premiere in Tampa. The Aurora, Ohio, company created the hugely successful King Tut exhibit, which draws about 1 million visitors in each city. National Geographic has sponsored the Whydah exhibit.
MOSI officials hope for a debut that coincides with the summer release of the third installment of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.
Don't expect to learn much about Whydah's years carrying slaves, though.
A 12,000-square-foot exhibit could never do justice to a topic as divisive and complex as slavery, Ostrenko said. Instead, it will offer a focused and thoughtful look at the archeological significance of the ship and even the weather that caused the boat's demise. The exhibition would focus on pirates between the 1600s and 1821, and include relics from other ships.
Nautical Nuggets
Built in London, Whydah carried slaves from West Africa to Jamaica on its maiden voyage. Samuel Bellamy, a pirate known as Black Sam, eventually hijacked the ship in the Bahamas and went on a raiding voyage up the Atlantic seaboard. The ship wrecked in a storm off Cape Cod in April 1717.
A salvage operation found Whydah off the shores of Wellfleet, Mass., in 1984. Archeologists considered it the first glimpse of a pirate culture known mostly in folklore. Among the items recovered: cannons, firearms, ammunition, tools, dinnerware, pagan symbols and clothing.
"This exhibit will set history straight about who these pirates were," Ostrenko said.
Kevin Yelvington is a University of South Florida associate professor of anthropology who studied Tampa's debate over the ship in the early 1990s.
Yelvington said he figured the controversy would be good for MOSI's bottom line when he heard about the exhibit. He's not sure it's good for history, however.
"Obviously MOSI is going for the big splash," he said. In terms of the slavery part of the story, "I am not sure how MOSI can negotiate this where others have failed."
Ostrenko is resigned to living with some community unrest.
"You can't please everyone," he said.
I am bewildered by my apparent racial insensitivity on this issue. I really don't get the objections. Yes, the ship was used to carry slaves. It was then captured and used to murder and plunder. This creates the historical value of the ship, but why does one overpower the other? Why would it's existance, and even profitability, cause pain and hardship?
I think it's important to educate people, perhaps even go a little overboard as we are likely to do in these sensitive times to appease as many groups as possible. If the past history of the ship as a slave ship is put into focus and made relevant in the museum, isn't that enough?
Pirate Ship Exhibit Plans Sail Into Controversy Over Slavery
Skip directly to the full story.
By BAIRD HELGESON The Tampa Tribune
Published: Nov 3, 2006
ADVERTISEMENT
More from this channel:
Search for more information:
Site Search Archives Keyword
TBO.com Site Search | Tribune archive from 1990
TAMPA - A museum exhibit dedicated to a pirate ship would seem like a perfect fit for Tampa.
The city is the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and an annual festival to celebrate the Spanish pirate Jose Gaspar.
The Museum of Science & Industry's plan to open an exhibit about the pirate ship Whydah, however, reignited old racial tensions about a vessel that once carried slaves.
"How do you handle a subject matter this divisive as an entertainment attraction?" asked James Ransom, a member of the National Coalition of African American Organizations. "It's hurtful and painful."
Tampa officials nixed plans to bring a museum of artifacts from Whydah (pronounced WID-ah) in 1993 after the black community complained the display would belittle or diminish the history of slavery.
Officials had hoped the $70 million pirate museum could jump-start tourism along Tampa's Garrison Channel. Black business leaders, ministers and professors complained about being excluded before city leaders unveiled the plan.
MOSI President Wit Ostrenko hopes to ease tensions this time, and assembled a committee of black leaders to help design the exhibit. He pledged that the exhibition would be sensitive to their concerns.
"This is about pirates, not about slavery," Ostrenko said. "It won't glorify the escaped slaves that became pirates on the ship."
Hyping History
Some leaders in the black community said they suspect MOSI waded into the controversy at least partially to generate hype before the exhibit opens.
Ransom and others said MOSI effectively converted conflict surrounding "Bodies, The Exhibition" into financial success.
The exhibit, which featured human cadavers in real-life poses, set attendance records and brought in more than $1 million for MOSI.
The Florida Anatomical Board tried unsuccessfully to prevent Bodies from opening, saying the exhibit creator couldn't prove the subjects gave permission to have their cadavers used as exhibit displays.
Terry Davis, of the American Association of Museums, said MOSI is in a unique position of trying to compete with attractions such as Busch Gardens, The Florida Aquarium and Orlando theme parks.
"MOSI has to look for anything to distinguish it from the other attractions," she said.
That forces MOSI to challenge conventional ideas about what science museums are supposed to be, Davis said.
Ransom said MOSI has gone too far. "I understand MOSI needs to make a profit, but it should not be exploiting this story of slavery to do that," he said.
MOSI officials are negotiating with Arts and Exhibitions International to have the exhibit's world premiere in Tampa. The Aurora, Ohio, company created the hugely successful King Tut exhibit, which draws about 1 million visitors in each city. National Geographic has sponsored the Whydah exhibit.
MOSI officials hope for a debut that coincides with the summer release of the third installment of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.
Don't expect to learn much about Whydah's years carrying slaves, though.
A 12,000-square-foot exhibit could never do justice to a topic as divisive and complex as slavery, Ostrenko said. Instead, it will offer a focused and thoughtful look at the archeological significance of the ship and even the weather that caused the boat's demise. The exhibition would focus on pirates between the 1600s and 1821, and include relics from other ships.
Nautical Nuggets
Built in London, Whydah carried slaves from West Africa to Jamaica on its maiden voyage. Samuel Bellamy, a pirate known as Black Sam, eventually hijacked the ship in the Bahamas and went on a raiding voyage up the Atlantic seaboard. The ship wrecked in a storm off Cape Cod in April 1717.
A salvage operation found Whydah off the shores of Wellfleet, Mass., in 1984. Archeologists considered it the first glimpse of a pirate culture known mostly in folklore. Among the items recovered: cannons, firearms, ammunition, tools, dinnerware, pagan symbols and clothing.
"This exhibit will set history straight about who these pirates were," Ostrenko said.
Kevin Yelvington is a University of South Florida associate professor of anthropology who studied Tampa's debate over the ship in the early 1990s.
Yelvington said he figured the controversy would be good for MOSI's bottom line when he heard about the exhibit. He's not sure it's good for history, however.
"Obviously MOSI is going for the big splash," he said. In terms of the slavery part of the story, "I am not sure how MOSI can negotiate this where others have failed."
Ostrenko is resigned to living with some community unrest.
"You can't please everyone," he said.
I am bewildered by my apparent racial insensitivity on this issue. I really don't get the objections. Yes, the ship was used to carry slaves. It was then captured and used to murder and plunder. This creates the historical value of the ship, but why does one overpower the other? Why would it's existance, and even profitability, cause pain and hardship?
I think it's important to educate people, perhaps even go a little overboard as we are likely to do in these sensitive times to appease as many groups as possible. If the past history of the ship as a slave ship is put into focus and made relevant in the museum, isn't that enough?