The Unacknowledged Legacy of 19 th Century Slave Narratives
Wall of Honor ”). Another memorial honors all the enslaved persons of Louisiana ; others focus on enslaved children .
It is clear that visitors to these plantations would have radically different experiences , and that a seemingly benign navigational choice can have profound ramifications . Similar choices can be had in one ’ s living room and a navigation to Westworld or The Handmaid ’ s Tale would present viewers with narratives of enslaved persons filtered through the perspective of white women . However , those looking for the escapism of alternative Americas could make the “ right ” turn and find instead shows like HBO ’ s Watchmen ( 2019 ) and Lovecraft Country ( 2020 ), which both discuss the continuing impacts of slavery and racial injustice and do so with Black protagonists in central roles . Watchmen opens with the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre , an event that remains absent from most Americans ’ historical memory . Viewers ’ horror over this event — and understanding that it is not relegated to an alternate American history — gives way to further shock as the show reveals that Watchmen ’ s America has also taken responsibility for this act and all acts of racial injustice by offering a formal apology and reparations to Black Americans . Viewers see , though , that more history remains to be written and more justice to be served , all of which can happen through the strong Black female protagonist Angela Abar ( played by Regina King ).
Lovecraft Country — airing as this article is being written — continues this work . Set in the segregated and civil rights era of the 1950s , the show tackles the prejudice and violence of that time as it also works within the horror genre . In the first episode , Lovecraft Country follows three characters as they make their way from Chicago to Massachusetts , a journey that viewers learn is fraught with danger for Black travelers .
31