Dorothy Berry

A work of millennial scope by a self-taught African-American historian.

Published by the American Anti-Slavery Society, this single 77 by 55 centimeter sheet tells multiple stories in both text and illustration.

Digitization allows researchers to trace editorial and authorial changes in archival content. Both are central to the study of this famous abolitionist pamphlet.

Keckley’s decision to write about her employers from the viewpoint of a household laborer--she was seamstress to Mary Todd Lincoln--enraged audiences.

The career and legacy of a Black critic who argued for the elevation of Black performance.

How racial hierarchies are embedded within the archival standards and practices that legitimize historical memory.

The bizarre and complex history of Black America, a theatrical production which revealed the conflicting possibilities of self-expression in a racist society.