By Ted Zwinski. Originally published on WWLP.
AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) – Scholars, students, and cultural preservationists gathered at UMass Amherst on Thursday for a conference examining the history and lasting impact of transatlantic slavery in the Northern United States during the American Revolution.
The event, titled “Rebellion, Resistance, and Refuge: Slavery and Border-Crossing During the American Revolution,” was hosted by the academic research center Slavery North.
Organizers described it as an international conference focused on uncovering and examining histories of slavery in the North that have often been overlooked.
The conference brought together researchers, professors, students and preservationists to discuss scholarship surrounding slavery, resistance and migration during the Revolutionary era.
Dr. Charmaine Nelson, provost professor of art history at UMass Amherst and founder of Slavery North, said scholarship on transatlantic slavery has historically focused on plantation societies in warmer climates.
“You can imagine there is a lot of scholars and students working on transatlantic slavery, but it’s Jamaica Haiti Brazil Mississippi South Carolina. They’re looking at tropical or semi tropical places where there were plantations.”
Nelson said there remains a significant gap in research documenting slavery in the Northern United States.
She also said researchers continue to face challenges obtaining historical records and data from the federal government as they work to expand scholarship on the subject.
