A Critical Race Theory and Archaeological Approach to Enslavement at the Dinsmore Plantation

Please join ARI in welcoming JeMiah Israel, a PhD Candidate (History)- ABD from the University of Cincinnati.

Her talk uses critical race theory, archaeological data, and historical archives to examine enslavement and the social and economic dichotomy of slave owners and the enslaved at the Dinsmore plantation. Artifacts recovered from the archaeological excavation of a slave cabin and a geophysical survey (e.g., ground penetrating radar and magnetometry) of the Dinsmore cemetery demonstrate that the lives of slaves were not valued by the slave owners who referred to them as family. In reality, these data demonstrate that the Dinsmore family treated their slaves as property. Thus, it is important to give a voice to those who were enslaved at the Dinsmore plantation and accurately portray the historical consequences of slavery and systemic racism that continue to disproportionately affect African Americans in the United States.