I had heard sentiments that the church and other exhibits not original to the plantation—like a trio of jail cells that sit at the center of the plantation grounds and were built in Pennsylvania in 1868—undermine the historical integrity of the Whitney.

and i very much agree with this, tbh. i see the merit in the argument made on the next page as being "akin to an artistic endeavor" but moving the cells all the way from pennsylvania to louisana just doesn't sit right with me because i think it unintentionally helps bolster the image of the north as free of racism when that's just not true. the church being donated and folded into the whitney makes so much more sense than the cells