SLAVE TESTIMONY

“Slave Testimony” by John Wesley Blassingame



“Slave Testimony” by John Wesley Blassingame

Introduction

John Wesley Blassingame was one of the preeminent scholars in the study of enslaved African-Americans. His early monographs The Slave Community (1972) and Black New Orleans, 1860-1880 (1973) shattered racist and stereotypical portrayals of African-American life by utilizing testimony and evidence left by blacks themselves, evidence which had been largely ignored or dismissed by earlier historians. With his edited volume, New Perspectives on Black Studies (1972), Blassingame helped to characterize the developing area of African American Studies. A prolific scholar, Blassingame furthermore co-wrote and edited, and co-edited numerous other ...