LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Chauncey DeVega Podcast re The American Slave Coast

This brilliant, well-read, charming, young intellectual interviewed us concerning the matters of The American Slave Coast the first week of this month for his weekly podcast. It was a considerable pleasure -- if that word can be used in connection with such a terrible subject -- talking with him.  He's so smart!  Every time we get to interact with people like him who are so much younger than we are is a blessing.  At his age I sure wasn't as smart and well-informed as he is.

This was our final scheduled support event this year for the publication of The American Slave Coast, which made this special experience even more so.

The links for the variety of methods to hear it can be found in this entry, "A Conversation With Historians Ned and Constance Sublette About Their New Book "The American Slave Coast: A History of the Slave-Breeding Industry" " on his website, Indomitable, here.



"Ned and Constance do some serious teaching and sharing on a very difficult subject for this week’s show. Chauncey and his guests work through questions regarding the scale and scope of The Transatlantic Slave Trade, how many people were killed during that horrific business, why did the slave population in the United States grow as compared to other parts of the world, and what is “the capitalized womb” and “slave-breeding?”
"Ned and Constance also take on common white supremacist and other myths about how chattel slavery in the “New World” was not as harsh as the labor experienced by European serfs or North American urban white industrial workers."

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