Please join us in person at the Library of Virginia for a conversation with
historian and author Warren Eugene Milteer Jr. on his new book, Beyond
Slavery’s Shadow: Free People of Color in the South, with Gregg Kimball,
the Library of Virginia’s director of Public Services and Outreach, and
Vincent Brooks, senior local records archivist.

On the eve of the Civil War, most people of color in the United States
toiled in bondage. Yet nearly half a million of these individuals,
including over 250,000 in the South, were free. In Beyond Slavery’s Shadow,
Milteer draws from a wide array of sources to demonstrate that from the
colonial period through the Civil War, the growing influence of white
supremacy and proslavery extremism created serious challenges for free
persons living in the South. Nevertheless, in the face of attempts to deny
them the most basic privileges and rights, free people of color defended
their families and established organizations and businesses. Milteer used
the Library’s Local Records Collection in his research for the book.

This talk complements the Library’s exhibition Your Humble Petitioner. A
book signing will follow the talk. For more information, contact Ashley
Ramey Craig at [log in to unmask] or 804.692.3001.

This is a free event. Registration is suggested. Please register at the
link below.

https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/8948641

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