Groundbreaking look at slaves as commodities through every phase of life; from birth to death and beyond; in early AmericaIn life and in death; slaves were commodities; their monetary value assigned based on their age; gender; health; and the demands of the market. The Price for Their Pound of Flesh is the first book to explore the economic value of enslaved people through every phase of their lives—including preconception; infancy; childhood; adolescence; adulthood; the senior years; and death—in the early American domestic slave trade. Covering the full “life cycle;†historian Daina Ramey Berry shows the lengths to which enslavers would go to maximize profits and protect their investments. Illuminating “ghost values†or the prices placed on dead enslaved people; Berry explores the little-known domestic cadaver trade and traces the illicit sales of dead bodies to medical schools.This book is the culmination of more than ten years of Berry’s exhaustive research on enslaved values; drawing on data unearthed from sources such as slave-trading records; insurance policies; cemetery records; and life insurance policies. Writing with sensitivity and depth; she resurrects the voices of the enslaved and provides a rare window into enslaved peoples’ experiences and thoughts; revealing how enslaved people recalled and responded to being appraised; bartered; and sold throughout the course of their lives. Reaching out from these pages; they compel the reader to bear witness to their stories; to see them as human beings; not merely commodities.A profoundly humane look at an inhumane institution; The Price for Their Pound of Flesh will have a major impact how we think about slavery; reparations; capitalism; nineteenth-century medical education; and the value of life and death.
#24716 in Books Martin Luther King Jr 2010-01-01 2010-01-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .70 x 5.50l; .75 #File Name: 0807000671256 pagesWhere Do We Go from Here Chaos or Community
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent information on the injustices against American citizen of African-American ...By S L ThomasExcellent information on the injustices against American citizen of African-American descents. Dr. King's writing chronicles the organizations that have been fighting for justice for these citizen; the internal conflicts that sometimes occur between these organizations and the gains and loses that African- American citizens have incurred since the beginning of the civil rights movement. The expressions in this book provides us with a picture of how African American citizens have made some strides; but greater work is needed in the areas of voting rights; jobs; housing; fair and equal pay and the justice system.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther KingBy Claude HargroveThis book should be a classic! The Civil Rights phase; writes King; was easier than transforming the movement into a Human Rights movement that modest support in wider America. He rightly concludes the riots of 1966 and thereafter were "uprisings" against the awful reality that African American equality must a go along with adequate wages; quality schools; and decent houses. All initial aims of the Johnson administration.King's last book was his most significant. He declares equality for African Americans was impossible without meaningful creation of jobs; quality education; and a radical change of the forms and vigorous confrontation with and the elimination over time of American racism. King asserts that capitalism itself would have be hugely revamped so it is more inclusive; and; lastly; American militarism is not only brutal to American youth; but has slaughtered millions of human beings in Asia; and now elsewhere; while reroutes billions of dollars from essential programs that could battle U.S. poverty. Poverty is an American way of life; including not only African Americans; but other minorities; workers; and southerners.Sooner or later; Kings; writes; American must realize that there is something terribly wrong with our economic system which permits millions of poor to exist in a land brimming with wealth.Songs of Free Men/ A Paul Robeson Recital1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great BookBy Deryl CollinsThis is a very enlightening and informative book that reflects what is still happening in America today. I recommend anyone who truly embraces the will to have peace and unity to read this book. It answers many of the questions asked today in reference to equality and is written with peace in mind.
