Lecture Notes: Modern-Day Slavery and Antoinette Harrell's Investigations

Introduction to Post-Civil War Slavery

• The belief that slavery ended in 1865 with the Civil War is incorrect.
• For 100 years post-war, many Black Southerners were forced into labor.
• Civil Rights Movement began around the 1950s, but secretive labor practices continued.

Antoinette Harrell: The Slavery Detective of the South

• Antoinette specializes in uncovering cases of modern-day slavery.
• Born in Louisiana, despite losing a leg to cancer, she tirelessly works on her mission.
• Utilizes newspaper clippings, FBI reports, testimonies, and sometimes receives phone tips.

Investigations and Findings

• Harrell's work sometimes supports court cases for reparations or aids in family heritage discovery.
• Example: May Louise Miller was held as a slave until 1961 in Mississippi.
• Family stories are often painful, involving threats and violence if they tried to leave.

Sharecropping: A New Form of Slavery

• Sharecropping: labor arrangement post-emancipation seen as slavery by another name.
• Planters often manipulated debts to keep African Americans bound to the land.

Personal Accounts and Family Histories

• Interviews with individuals like Arthur Miller reveal experiences of forced labor and violence.
• Isolation and economic dependency kept families trapped on plantations.

Case Study: Donald Jeffrey and Ball Ground Plantation

• Donald Jeffrey is from five generations of sharecroppers.
• Lives rent-free but performs tasks for the plantation owner, showcasing complicated relationships.

Challenges of Uncovering Historical Truths

• Isolation of plantations made escape difficult.
• Conversations often reveal fear of repercussions even decades later.
• Harrell’s pursuits sometimes meet resistance, as in a class-action lawsuit refusal by the Supreme Court.

The Importance of Genealogical Research

• Antoinette assists individuals in tracing family histories, often tied to former slaveholders.
• Discoveries of historical records can connect modern African Americans to their ancestors.

Reflections on Historical and Modern Impacts

• Families still deal with the legacy of slavery and sharecropping.
• Reparations are seen as a potential way to mend these historical injustices, though opinions differ.

Conclusion

• Harrell’s work is vital in preserving these stories.
• Many people remain silent out of fear, underlining the importance of documenting and researching this history.