In Slavery's Wake

Explore the modern-day impact of slavery and colonialism in this panoramic Black history for anti-racist readers of 1619 Project and Caste.

The companion book to a groundbreaking exhibition on African American history and culture—with 150 powerful illustrations of people and objects.

This powerful collection of essays brought to life with more than 150 illustrations investigates the intertwined legacies of slavery, freedom, and capitalism. In Slavery’s Wake frames the history of slavery in a global context to show how it created systems of oppression that continue to shape the world today. Compelling essays from key historians and scholars trace the contemporary resonances of slavery but also the history of freedom-making, from abolitionism to enslaved and colonized people asserting their humanity to the Black Lives Matter movement. The history is humanized by:

• Art reflecting on liberation, including the gorgeous artwork of Daniel Minter
• Historic and contemporary artifacts that represent enslavement and resistance

• Poignant interviews of descendants of formerly colonized and enslaved people sharing their lived experiences 

This book posits that current matters of freedom and equality are only made possible by understanding how past injustices have defined the present, making it an essential read for anyone engaged in social justice. Poignant and insightful, In Slavery's Wake examines the long shadow of slavery and looks toward building a freer future beyond it.KIRKUS REVIEWS, STARRED REVEW
"The National Museum of African American History & Culture and Smithsonian Books have produced what should be considered the definitive text in understanding both Black and Brown people’s cultural contributions to world history and how the systemic implementation of slavery throughout the globe was and still is one of the key reasons for a significant amount of artifact conception and creation. Having over 30 contributors who proficiently speak to the horrors of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism, this masterpiece identifies how racially based atrocities and repulsive business decisions perilously affected millions of people in the United States, Brazil, England, South Africa, the Congo, and the many other countries involved with chattel slavery and its ramifications. Museum curators, experts, and academics contributed concise, informative, and limpidly written essays for this expertly produced anthology, which is as much a feat of graphic design as a spectacular work of nonfiction, mixing in its pages artistry, history, and personal testimony through a variety of visual, written, and aural narrative techniques. The book presents photographs of paintings, portraits, poetry, drawings, pottery, ironworks, tapestries and quilts, maps, jewelry, clothing, architecture, and more—all of which tell both the individual story of each creative person who produced the artifact and the collective story of the oppressed peoples who needed an outlet to express both their pain and their hope for a better future. The reader senses a certain catharsis from the writers themselves as they finally have an opportunity to tell the stories behind these moments of creative genius, whether they stemmed from a need for self-expression or religious epiphany or archival purpose or abject protest; the contributors, in other words, write from a place of sympathy and empathy, sadness and joy, adoration and awe. The book, thus, is 'a living archive,' evidencing the freedoms found through inventive expression and illustrating how slavery, though no longer legally in existence, is embedded in the fabric of history and has left an indelible and tragic mark on all of humanity. A must-read about the power of artistry over overt oppression."

NORTH DALLAS GAZETTE
"This comprehensive book isn’t just about America and its history. It’s about slavery, worldwide, yesterday and today. Casual readers – non-historians especially – will, in fact, be surprised to learn, then, about slavery on other continents, how Africans left their legacies in places far from home, and how the 'wake' they left changed the worlds of agriculture, music, and culture. Tales of individual people round out the narrative, in legends that melt into the stories of others and present new heroes, activists, resisters, allies, and tales that are inspirational and thrilling. This book is sometimes a difficult read, and is probably best consumed in small bites that can be considered with great care to fully appreciate. Start In Slavery’s Wake, though, and you won’t be able to get it out of your mind."“In a kaleidoscopic visual experience that invites contemplation from every angle, In Slavery’s Wake probes deep histories, rich cultures, and persistent spiritualities across a vast terrestrial and aquatic map. Vividly readable and endlessly teachable, this unique collection of many voices and varied genres thrums with life and the vibrant memory of Black freedom-seekers around the globe, offering a bold and essential look at slavery and its ongoing legacies.” —Tiya Miles, author of the National Book Award-winning All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake

“In the turbulence that flows from human suffering, people come together to reckon with their losses and draw lessons for the future. In Slavery’s Wake reveals how the devastating history of human bondage continues to inundate the societies it produced. These brave and inspired artists and writers confront slavery and its legacies without flinching, just as many of their ancestors did, and as we all must do if we are ever to set a steady course toward a better world.”
—Vincent Brown, author of Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War

“In Slavery’s Wake bears witness to the telling of uncomfortable truths, which illuminate the lived experiences and historical memories of heretofore nameless, faceless, and storyless enslaved and colonized people and their descendants. It breaks the silence and unmasks the powerful urgency of Black folks’ ongoing practices of freedom and struggles to define liberation anew.” —Edda L. Fields-Black, author of COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War

“Drawing on years of research by historians, art historians, and archaeologists, In Slavery’s Wake is the result of a decade-long collaboration among scholars and curators from the United States, Brazil, South Africa, Senegal, and several other countries. Featuring provocative essays richly illustrated with an array of photographs, paintings, engravings, and other images, this stunning book invites readers to visualize the past associated with the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in order to reconsider the present and reimagine the future of the African Diaspora.” —Ana Lucia Araujo, author of Humans in Shackles: An Atlantic History of Slavery

“This companion volume to the international multilingual exhibition In Slavery’s Wake centers racial oppression and people’s resistance, creativity, and survival through five centuries. This point-counterpoint is captured exquisitely through essays, poems, and a playlist in riveting prose accompanied by scores of beautiful, as well as horrific, images of enslavement and resistance, colonialism and independence, to show freedom’s unfinished condition. If you do not learn, then you are a closed book. If you do not weep, then you are made of stone. If you do not shout for joy, then your humanity is compromised. The spirit that drives it all is an engaged moral imperative that demands the past help shape a better, more equitable, future. Brilliant, stunning, and urgent.” —J. R. Kerr-Ritchie, author of Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America’s Coastal Slave TradeTHE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. PAUL GARDULLO is a historian and curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and director of its Center for the Study of Global Slavery. JOHANNA OBENDA is a curatorial specialist at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture who explores stories of the varied African diasporic experience through the lens of art, history, and culture. ANTHONY BOGUES is Harmon Family Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. He is the author of numerous books, including Black Heretics, Black Prophets.