Memory In the “Magic City”

Bond, Lucy and Rapson, Jessica 2024. Memory In the “Magic City”. Memory Studies Review. 1 (1) (1), pp. 56-75. https://doi.org/10.1163/29498902-20240009

TitleMemory In the “Magic City”
TypeJournal article
AuthorsBond, Lucy and Rapson, Jessica
AbstractThis article explores the naturalisation of memories of racial violence at heritage sites in and around Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham’s cityscape has been forged from systemic processes of racial capitalism that have led to ongoing forms of environmental racism. Against this backdrop, prominent tourist attractions prioritise the celebration of industrial heritage above acknowledging past and present forms of racialised injustice – from slavery to convict leasing, segregation to redlining. These sites present a sanitised account of the city’s iron and steel industry, resulting in a selective transmission and production of memories of industrial progress which obscures the operations of racial capitalism and the environmental racism it produces. This heritage, we suggest, cannot reconcile the brutality of inequitable labour systems, such as convict leasing, and the environmental violence of industrial production with the celebration of capitalist progress that positions Birmingham as the “Magic City” of industrial miracles.
JournalMemory Studies Review
Journal citation1 (1) (1), pp. 56-75
ISSN2949-8902
Year2024
PublisherBrill
Publisher's version
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1163/29498902-20240009
Publication dates
Published online06 Aug 2024
Page range1-20

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