By Abby Mosley
News Reporter
AUSTIN — The Neill-Cochran House Museum will dedicate a Toni Morrison “Bench by the Road” during its annual Juneteenth celebration.
In a press release, the museum said it will host the event June 19. During the celebration, the museum will install the bench in recognition of the history of enslaved people in the United States, particularly in Texas.
The Toni Morrison Society, founded in 1993, launched a community outreach initiative called “The Bench by the Road Project.” The initiative provides physical memorials at sites to remember and honor those who were enslaved in America.
“We thought of what we could do for [Toni Morrison’s] 75th birthday, what would be fitting, what would be in alignment with what her life had been and what she had called for, we decided to launch The Bench by the Road Project,” Carolyn Denard, Ph.D., founder and board chair of the Toni Morrison Society, said. “So, it was actually an extension of our mission. And this time, it would be real benches, you know, in real sites. It would not be kind of the metaphorical side of the book or the society. So, we launched that so that we could acknowledge those events and individuals and physical places that had significant meaning in the history of the African diaspora and that’s what we’ve tried to do in in the placement of these 36 benches, is to acknowledge and oftentimes they are sites that would otherwise not be acknowledged.”
Paul Cato, communications director at the Neill-Cochran House Museum, said the installation will provide a space for visitors to reflect on the impact of slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
“There’s no seating in the slate quarters building and there wasn’t any place, you know, to sort of contemplative space,” said Cato. “So, that’s sort of how the journey began. Then we looked, for some meaningful way to install a contemplative space on our site. And came across the Toni Morrison society and their bench by the road project and applied, and yeah, we’re granted a bench. So, we’re just so proud and grateful to the Toni Morrison society for recognizing us.”
The bench will be dedicated during the museum’s annual Juneteenth celebration.
“It will be extra special, because we will, at the end, we will conclude the event with the dedication of the bench,” said Cato. “And so, we’re just so excited to share this with the community, and we hope that as many people as possible can attend or be made aware of the bench and the day.”
The Juneteenth celebration will include live music, food and educational activities, while also serving as a time for reflection on the history of slavery in the United States.
“It’s a free day of celebration, yes, but also of reflection and contemplation. It is ultimately a joyous day,” said Cato. “And we have live music; we have free barbecue. We’ve been we’ve had a great partnership with Distant Relatives, which is African diaspora themed barbecue restaurant run by Michelin, award-winning chef Damian Brockway and we, in the past two celebrations, we’ve had a gospel choir here, Christopher de Spivey and company, and we have tours, we have activities.”
Denard expressed gratitude for the work of the museum and its staff.
“I just think it’s really significant what they’re doing more important every day, less we lose that history,” said Denard. “And it’s, you know, it’s part of the history of Texas, it’s part of American history. I want to thank the administrators and the founders and those who support the Neill-Cochran House [Museum], the city of Austin, all of those who have made this project a reality.”
For more information, vist https://www.nchmuseum.org/
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