Black Slavery, Freedom, and Resistance: Testimonies of Enslaved Individuals as Historical Actors in American History

 

In the second half of the quarter, you read works by several enslaved or formerly enslaved people, including Boston King (Week 6), Ona Judge (Week 7), Solomon Northrup (Week 9), and Nat Turner (Week 10). What does their respective testimony reveal about the changing contours and possibilities of Black slavery, freedom, and resistance from the time of the American Revolution, when Boston King escaped slavery by joining the British Army, to the Antebellum era, when the Virginia authorities hanged Nat Turner for leading a slave rebellion? How do their experiences advance our understanding of Black men and women as historical actors who play active roles in American history?