The Writer Who Hesitates Gets Scooped
A few years ago, I was gobsmacked by an off comment in David Levering Lewis's WEB DuBois biography. Turns out that there was a resort that slave owners used to take their black families to vacation, near what is now Wilberforce University. In fact, the University was founded after the Quakers forced the resort to close and began as a college for the children of those slave-owner/slave families. Fascinating, right? Ever since, I've been wanting to write a book about the place. Well, while I was dithering,
NPR: The relationship between slave masters and the slaves who were their lovers can be difficult to fathom. But author Dolen Perkins Valdez takes on the subject in her a new book, titled Wench. Guest host Lynn Neary talks with Valdez about the project and the prevalence of such taboo relationships during the slavery era.
Damn! And, yeah, she was inspired in exactly the same way I was; by that tidbit in the DuBois bio.
Damn.
Posted by Debra J Dickerson at 1/22/2010 2:48 PM 
Categories: writers,race,books,gender relations,history,gender
Tags: Wench Dolen Perkins Valdez slavery Wilberforce University Quakers NPR
Categories: writers,race,books,gender relations,history,gender
Tags: Wench Dolen Perkins Valdez slavery Wilberforce University Quakers NPR
Life tends to get in the way of acting on good ideas
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Like your new blog. Used your piece on BHM with my 7/8th English class. Some got mad, some agreed (typical) all wrote good papers on it though. Promised to read "Who Shot Johnny" for next Thursday. They lost a friend to shooting earlier this week. They were impressed that I knew you but unimpressed that I never stayed in touch.
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