WHITE CASTLE - The Descendants Project, a non-profit working to change the way people tour plantations, spoke on Thursday's fire at Nottoway Plantation, calling it an opportunity to expand on the history of the site.

"This destruction is also an opportunity for us to learn more about the system and we can understand the legacies of slavery and we can heal literally from the ashes," The Descendants Project Co-Founder Dr. Joy Banner said.

Banner said a fire at a plantation as old as Nottoway brings out complex emotions.

"Quite honestly, I felt that we lost a very important resource in being able to tell that history. However, as someone who has descended from people who were enslaved at plantations, you have to acknowledge that we can hold multiple emotions, especially when it comes to this history," Banner said.

The Descendants Project currently stewards two different plantation sites: The Woodland and Many Waters.

"Why we are here as an organization is because of our experience growing up in the middle of what is known as plantation country which historically had hundreds of plantations along the Mississippi River and now we have about 20 or so that are historic houses and museums. However, very few of them address the legacy of slavery," Banner said.

Banner said plantation tourism is alive in Louisiana.

"There is economic benefit that comes from plantation tourism right? I think where we need to balance it is how have we involved the Black descendant community?" She said.

When talking about the possibility of reconstruction, Banner said education needs to be part of the conversation.

"I do think that plantation houses are afraid to move away from weddings or are afraid to move away from events that are more social in that aspect, maybe are antithetical to the brutality of slavery, there are options, there is a demand for telling the reality of this story. That is an opportunity that all plantation sites have," Banner said.