slavery

Jane Givens searches for her father, Phil, and sister, Biddy, through an ad placed in Cincinnati's The Colored Citizen in 1866.

National

After Slavery, Searching For Loved Ones In Wanted Ads

7:23pm February 22, 2017

In the Civil War's waning years, African-Americans trying to find lost loved ones used classified ads in newspapers. More than 900 of these notices are now accessible via an online database.

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A $35 million project is underway at Monticello to recreate or restore spaces where Thomas Jefferson's salves worked and lived.

National

Monticello Restoration Project Puts An Increased Focus On Jefferson's Slaves

7:03pm February 20, 2017

by NPR Staff

Thomas Jefferson's Virginia plantation is being renovated to shed more light on the enslaved people who lived and worked there. One of the most notable of those slaves was Sally Hemings.

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The Alma Mater statue on the Columbia University campus in New York City. The university has released an initial report on its historical ties to slavery in America.

National

Columbia University Reveals Details Of Its Ties With Slavery

3:18pm January 24, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Research by faculty and students found that leaders of King's College, which later became Columbia, owned slaves and that the institution raised money from those who owned enslaved people.

Santo Tomas Catholic Church in Abiquiu, N.M., is the site of an annual saint's day celebration in late November that includes cultural elements of the genizaros, the descendants of Native American slaves.

National

Descendants Of Native American Slaves In New Mexico Emerge From Obscurity

12:25pm December 30, 2016

by John Burnett

The mixed-race genizaros, whose history stretches back to the 17th century, smash the conventional notion that New Mexican identity is defined as either the noble Spaniard or the proud Pueblo Indian.

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A new exhibit at George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation house explores the complexity of the first president's relationship with the slaves he owned that lived and worked there. Tom is the first of the 19 slaves profiled throughout the exhibit, which

National

Records, Descendants Help Weave Stories Of George Washington's Slaves

10:00am October 16, 2016

by Wynne Davis

By using decades worth of archaeological finds, the first president's meticulous record keeping, and their descendants, curators have crafted a new exhibit that focuses on Mount Vernon's slaves.

Patricia Bayonne-Johnson holds a photo of her great-grandparents and their son. The retired science teacher discovered that some of her ancestors were sold by the Jesuits of the Maryland Province in 1838, to pay off Georgetown University's massive debt.

Georgetown Will Offer An Edge In Admissions To Descendants Of Slaves

11:07am September 01, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

In 1838, 272 enslaved people were sold to fund the university. The school, grappling with that history, will give descendants of those slaves the same consideration as legacy students in admission.

'Nurse, Spy, Cook:' How Harriet Tubman Found Freedom Through Food

2:51pm April 27, 2016

by Nina Martyris

Tubman's role as a professional cook has often been overlooked. She self-funded many of her heroic raids to rescue slaves through an activity she enjoyed and excelled at: cooking.

A group of students calling themselves Reclaim Harvard Law School has been occupying a student center for weeks, demanding greater attention to racial issues, including more diversity among the faculty.

History Of Slavery, Future Of Diversity Still At Issue At Harvard

3:50pm March 06, 2016

Student protesters calling themselves Reclaim Harvard Law School say a recommendation that a slavery-tainted symbol be retired is not enough to end their occupation of a student center.

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Cover detail from William Grimes' narrative.

Books
Arts

When Ancestry Search Led To Escaped Slave: 'All I Could Do Was Weep'

1:49pm January 18, 2016

Regina Mason's great-great-great-grandfather, a man named William Grimes, was a runaway slave and the author of what is now considered to be the first fugitive slave narrative.

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A Fine Dessert, Dinner Scene, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

The Kids' Book 'A Fine Dessert' Has Award Buzz — And Charges Of Whitewashing Slavery

2:19pm October 30, 2015

by Leah Donnella

In a long discussion on Twitter, one critic called the illustrations "candy coated images of slavery." The illustrator says these images have been taken out of context.