It's been a while because it's been a short, busy summer. The book is still moving forward, now with access to more secondary sources. I will be giving a talk on Anna Douglass at
Villanova University on September 29, 2012, (that's a Wednesday) at 4 pm, sharing the program with Prof. M. Nzadi Keita, who has written poetry about Anna. Then, in October, off to Northumbria University for the BrANCH conference where I will give a paper on the Douglass marriage on a panel with the fabulous Angela Murphy, who will be talking about the marriage of Jermain Loguen. More on both as details develop.
Meanwhile, for your amusement, I found this at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in their
exhibit on Jefferson's slaves. This is a tree for the enslaved family of Joseph Fossett and Edith Hern, who lived on the Monticello hilltop. Originally, I took this picture because I liked the way that it represented the generations -- much better than the standard tree shape.:
Then, I noticed the grandson there at the bottom of the circle. His name?:
Frederick Douglass Issacs (1851-1904).
As I always joke with my students, all things lead to Frederick Douglass.
