Tera W. Hunter

HISTORIAN AUTHOR SCHOLAR

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“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”​ - Ida B. Wells

Mothers letter to Lincoln
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Art inspired by my book To ‘Joy With Freedom. More here

My Articles

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)