“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” - Ida B. Wells
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Art inspired by my book To ‘Joy With Freedom. More here
My Articles
Bound In Wedlock
The History of Black Marriage
An interview I did with Lenny Letter about the history of black marriage before and after the Civil War.
Op-Eds
Bound in Wedlock: Slave and Free Black Marriage in the Nineteenth Century
Americans have long viewed marriage between a white man and a white woman as a sacred union. But marriages between African Americans have seldom been treated with the same reverence. This discriminatory legacy traces back to centuries of slavery, when the overwhelming majority of black married couples were bound in servitude as well as wedlock. Though their unions were not legally recognized, slaves commonly married, fully aware that their marital bonds would be sustained or nullified according to the whims of white masters.
To 'Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women's Lives and Labors after the Civil war
Winner of three major book awards.
- H. L. Mitchell Award, 1998 (Southern Historical Association);
- Letitia Brown Memorial Book Prize, 1997 (Association of Black Women’s Historians);
- Book of the Year Award, 1997 (International Labor History Association)