The participants took two walking tours as part of the workshop. The first, in New Haven, led by community leaders working with Yale Medical School, explored the history of racial segregation and African-American resilience in New Haven. Several issues were raised on this tour, which were taken forward by the group in the workshop discussions. First, the ongoing impact of physical segregation in US American cities, which makes even free resources in the city difficult to access. Second, the impact of policing on Black communities. Third, the ongoing impact of inadequate housing, service provision and access to food.
At the Slavery tour of Brown University, the tour guide emphasised the importance of stating the names of the enslaved and coerced labourers who built the university buildings. As well as bringing individual stories to the fore, this tour also incorporates a series of questions for the participants, asking them to publicly reflect on their experiences of race and knowledge of slavery.
From both tours, the workshop participants took away a sense of the significance of taking heritage and community engagement work out of the museum building, the importance of carefully selecting who (literally) leads the tours, and shares their knowledge and experience, and how the tours connect with the contemporary legacies of slavery and resistance.