filed under Film
Tonight at the Black Rep
12:49PM ON
10/30/2007
BY
Dave Segal
Ian wants us to know about the screening of Traces of the Trade: A story from the Deep North, at 5:30 tonight, hosted by Rhode Islanders for Community and Justice:
Given the myth that the South is solely responsible for slavery, viewers will be surprised to learn that Browne’s ancestors were Northerners. The film follows Browne and nine fellow family members on a remarkable journey which brings them face-to-face with the history and legacy of New England’s hidden enterprise.
From 1769 to 1820, DeWolf fathers, sons and grandsons trafficked in human beings. They sailed their ships from Bristol, Rhode Island to West Africa with rum to trade for African men, women and children. Captives were taken to plantations that the DeWolfs owned in Cuba or were sold at auction in such ports as Havana and Charleston. Sugar and molasses were then brought from Cuba to the family-owned rum distilleries in Bristol. Over the generations, the family owned 47 ships that transported thousands of Africans across the Middle Passage into slavery. They amassed an enormous fortune. By the end of his life, James DeWolf had been a U.S. Senator and was reportedly the second richest man in the United States.
The enslavement of Africans was business for more than just the DeWolf family. It was a cornerstone of Northern commercial life.
Filmmaker Katrina Browne will be on hand for q+a.
November 14th, 2007 at 9:27AM
Impertinent Questions » Blog Archive » Providence screening of Traces of the Trade Says:
[...] to be mentioned in the community, as you can see from this entry by Ian Donnis at The Phoenix, and this post at the Providence Daily Dose. Hopefully this will lead to more discussion, and interest in [...]
November 20th, 2007 at 10:09AM
Impertinent Questions Says:
Providence screening of Traces of the Trade…
I went with my cousin Katrina Browne to Providence this evening, for a local screening of her film, Traces of the Trade. This is her documentary about the journey which ten of us undertook to re-trace the footsteps of our ancestors in the slave trade, …