Erased by Design: An Antenarrative of Ellenton and the Savannah River Plant

Document Type

Article

Author ORCID Identifier

Jamal-Jared Alexander https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0913-6441

Avery C. Edenfield https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1273-2204

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Technical Communication

Volume

71

Issue

1

Publisher

Society for Technical Communication

Publication Date

2-1-2024

First Page

7

Last Page

19

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the Atomic Energy Commission’s use of eminent domain to seize the town of Ellenton and initiate the Savannah River Plant (SRP). We disrupt the presiding race-neutral history by reframing the story of Ellenton’s African American residents, who were both disproportionately impacted by the seizure and whose experiences were erased from Ellenton’s history.

Method: We analyze official SRP’s histories alongside counter-narratives for examples of deceptive messaging and whiteness as property.

Results: Through our analysis of the “race-neutral histories,” we recognize that African Americans–particularly sharecroppers and their families–bore the brunt of the Cold War’s Savannah River Site’s bomb plant.

Conclusion: Practitioners who are interested in organizational DEI work should recognize the danger of race-neutral accounts and actively search out excluded perspectives to give fuller context to their organization’s work.

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