In honor of Black History Month, Douglas A. Blackmon (The Wall Street Journal Atlanta bureau chief) will give a presentation about his groundbreaking book, "Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II," which broadly examines how a form of neoslavery thrived in the U.S. long after legal abolition and well into the 20th Century. "Slavery by Another Name" unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude. It also reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the modern companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the system’s final demise in the 1940s, partly due to fears of enemy propaganda about American racial abuse at the beginning of World War II. Mr. Blackmon has been writing about race and politics in the South for over 20 years. He first began writing stories in his native Mississippi, for the Progress, then reporting for local newspapers (such as The Atlanta-Journal Constitution) before joining the The Wall Street Journal in October 1995. In 2001 he revealed in the Journal how U.S. Steel Corp. relied on forced black laborers in Alabama coal mines in the early 20th century. An article which led to his first book, "Slavery By Another Name." R.S.V.P.: This program is open to the public. However, we encourage interested parties to R.S.V.P to steven.henderson@hts.gatech.edu so we can determine how many people to expect. If you have any special needs please inform us as well.
Location: Ferst Room, Georgia Tech Library, 704 Cherry Street
Contact: Steven Henderson, School of History, Technology, and Society
Phone: 404-894-3196
Link: Slavery by Another Name
