'What ‘Annabelle’ Can Teach Us About Race' by Lindsey Stewart - Essence

Essence | October 29, 2025

On May 15, 2025, Nottoway Plantation, one of the largest antebellum mansions in Louisiana, caught fire. The event immediately sparked an intense discussion on social media about race, slavery, and how we remember American history. While many white Americans mourned the loss of this grand historical estate, several African Americans expressed joyous relief. To us, Nottoway’s transformation in the 1980s – from a brutal site of enslavement to a luxury resort and wedding venue – represented the Southern plantation tourist industry’s tendency to whitewash our past.

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