Alphonzo Wesson: Excavated: From Soil to Stars

Excavated: From Soil to Stars examines land as a keeper of memory. In the fields of Maysville, Kentucky, and under the stars above, a weathered wood building stood witness to a 190-year-old history. A short film directed by Emmy Award-winning director Alphonzo J. Wesson traces the journey of the sun as it rises and falls over the crops of Maysville and the land upon which a slave pen once stood. That slave pen, carefully excavated and now on display in the Grand Hall of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, provides testimony of a wicked past.

Probate inventory records of 1835 from the slave pen’s owner list the names of 34 human beings—men, women, and children—who were likely imprisoned together within the structure. 34 hearts beat upon this land. 34 pairs of eyes caught traces of the same sun raking in through the barred windows. 34 individuals slept and dreamt under the same roof. Beyond their names, further research is ongoing to reveal more about the people forced to endure life inside this structure until transported to the slave market in Natchez, Mississippi.

Curator: Trudy Gaba, Social Justice Curator