From the earliest arrival of African descendants in the 1500s in what became present-day Alabama, Black citizens managed complicated relationships of freedom and slavery with their White and indigenous counterparts. Court documents, maps, memoirs, and newspapers among other records document increasing pressure to restrict Black agency during the early 1800s that ultimately led to national division and civil war in the 1860s. This presentation will delve into the complex history of slavery in Alabama, how we contend with its heritage, and proper methods of utilizing controversial knowledge about the past to edify all cultural backgrounds in Alabama.
A computer and projection screen are requested for this presentation.
