> On May 15, 2023, at 7:38 PM, Henry Wiencek <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Looking through the earlier notes on this thread, I was struck by Lois
> Leveen writing that Munford documented: "They have less superstition, less
> reliance on dreams and visions.”

As a point of clarification, it was not Munford who praised African Americans who had “less superstition, less reliance on dreams and visions”; it was the white minister and enslaver Robert Ryland.

As someone who is not a Christian, I admit to some amusement that white Christians of yore derided Blacks, whether those Blacks considered themselves Christians or not, for believing in ghosts.  Claims about the rising of Lazarus, and of Jesus, and (for Catholics) the ability of saints to intervene on behalf of the living — all that belief that was and remains so central to “by-the-Book Christianity” looks a lot like ghost stories and haunts to those of us outside looking in.  

-Lois

Lois Leveen, PhD
Portland OR 97214
[log in to unmask]
she/her/hers

Latest article:  Imperfect Justice in the Imperfect Archive: Uncovering Extrajudicial Black Resistance in Richmond’s Civil War Court Records <https://www.journalofthecivilwarera.org/2023/02/imperfect-justice-in-the-imperfect-archive-uncovering-extrajudicial-black-resistance-in-richmonds-civil-war-court-records/>


______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
https://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html

This list is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).