All across the South, historic plantations are still being used as wedding venues. These were once sites of forced labor and unimaginable hardship, yet today they’re marketed as picturesque backdrops for celebration.

The recent fire at Nottoway Plantation — the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the U.S. — should not spark efforts to rebuild a venue. It should spark a national conversation.

We are calling on state governments and the U.S. Department of the Interior to take meaningful action: stop the use of former slave plantations as private event spaces, and support the transformation of these sites into public museums or memorials that fully acknowledge their history.

Plantation weddings overlook the pain connected to these places. They often present a version of the past that’s elegant but incomplete. It’s time to move forward with truth, respect, and historical integrity.

Sign if you believe these sites should no longer be used for parties or weddings but preserved as places of learning, remembrance, and public reflection.

[Photo Credit: Michael Johnson / AP via CBS]