DIASPORA DASH

29th JANUARY 2014

Enslaved Women in America

An Encyclopedia

Daina Ramey Berry, Editor in Chief, with Deleso A. Alford, Senior Editor

One of the most harrowing periods in American history was undoubtedly the era of slavery and its devastating impact on people of African descent. Enslaved women, in particular, had challenging circumstances based on their gender, yet they persevered with strength and grace through extraordinarily difficult life experiences.

This singular reference provides an authoritative account of the daily lives of enslaved women in the United States, from colonial times to emancipation following the Civil War. Through essays, photos, and primary source documents, the female experience is explored, and women are depicted as central, rather than marginal, figures in history.

Slavery in the history of the United States continues to loom large in our national consciousness, and the role of women in this dark chapter of the American past is largely under-examined. This is the first encyclopedia to focus on the daily experiences and roles of female slaves in the United States, from colonial times to official abolition provided by the 13th amendment to the Constitution in 1865.

Enslaved Women in America: An Encyclopedia contains 100 entries written by a range of experts and covering all aspects of daily life. Topics include culture, family, health, labor, resistance, and violence. Arranged alphabetically by entry, this unique look at history features life histories of lesser-known African American women, including Harriet Robinson Scott, the wife of Dred Scott, as well as more notable figures.

Features
• Dozens of photos of former enslaved women 
• Detailed historical timeline 
• Numerous rare primary documents, including runaway slave advertisements and even a plantation recipe for turtle soup
• Profiles of noted female slaves and their works

Highlights
• Provides a comprehensive examination of the role of enslaved women in United States history
• Includes contributions from some of the top scholars in the field
• Contains the most current and up-to-date research on enslaved women in the United States
• Addresses current historical debates on a variety of topics referencing slavery
Sample Topics
Abortion
Breeding
Community
Concubinage
Conjurors
Decorative Arts
Education
Elderly Women
Elizabeth Key Grinstead
Female Slave Network
Gender Conventions
Gullah Culture
Hair and Headdresses
Islam
Labor
Life Cycle
Literacy 
Mammy and Jezebel Stereotypes
Middle Passage
Motherhood
Names
Narratives
Resistance
Quilting
Voodoo

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The African Diaspora was the historic movement of Africans and their descendants throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas. It also refers to immigration and dispersal throughout all of the globe, such as Europe. 

The African diaspora is the history of how Africans, though scattered, retained their traditions and reform their identities in a new world. The term has been historically applied in particular to the descendants of the Africans who were enslaved and shipped to the Americas by way of the Atlantic slave trade with the largest population in Brazil.

My name is Dash and my goal is to collect and curate this information in a comprehensive way. I post information I come across and also reblog pertinent content to the theme of the blog. I also build lists, documents and pdfs on a myriad of subtopics on the Diaspora. Be sure to check out my docu-series ‘Negro’ that includes these topics of Diaspora, identity, colonization, colorism, racism, media and stereotypes in Latin America. 

>via: http://diasporadash.tumblr.com/post/74940747832/enslaved-women-in-america-an-encyclopedia-daina