Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery by Deborah Willis

by Deborah Willis

The Emancipation Proclamation is one of the most important documents in American history. As we approach its 150th anniversary, what do we really know about those who experienced slavery?

In their pioneering book, Envisioning Emancipation, renowned photographic historian Deborah Willis and historian of slavery Barbara Krauthamer have amassed 150 photographs--some never before published--from the antebellum days of the 1850s through the New Deal era of the 1930s. The authors vividly display the seismic impact of emancipation on African Americans born before and after the Proclamation, providing a perspective on freedom and slavery and a way to understand the photos as documents of engagement, action, struggle, and aspiration.

Envisioning Emancipation illustrates what freedom looked like for black Americans in the Civil War era. From photos of the enslaved on plantations and African American soldiers and camp workers in the Union Army to Juneteenth celebrations, slave reunions, and portraits of black families and workers in the American South, the images in this book challenge perceptions of slavery. They show not only what the subjects emphasized about themselves but also the ways Americans of all colors and genders opposed slavery and marked its end.

Filled with powerful images of lives too often ignored or erased from historical records, Envisioning Emancipation provides a new perspective on American culture and will be a keepsake for many years to come.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, African American, Photography, Historical

Hardcover

First published December 1, 2012

About the author

Dr. Willis is chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

Reviews

[Shila Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mesmerizing photos. I especially liked the photo of Mary McLeod Bethune on page 185. It is the first time I'd seen it and something about it moves me. The last photo in the book is also quite mesmerizing- page 208.

[Fleece · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like that this book focuses on black americans' AGENCY and the deliberate choices in photography (depending on source) made to either promote action and an image of dignity or to be oppressive and racist and 'prove' inferiority and erase the accomplishments/energy/existence of black americans.

i think i've only seen a few photographs in this book before, and i like that individuals are named and their actions explained when that information is there. I've seen the "Scourged Back" photo of Private Gordon tons of times (i think in textbooks) and he was never named (hi nat geo foldout timeline with this pic in it) and I didn't know anything about him until i read this.

pretty short read, wish there was more analysis/background on each individual photo but there's probably constraints on that, and the book does give really good general commentary. personally would have been able to focus better if photos were placed to where in the text they were being talked about rather than the text part and photo parts of each chapter being separate.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos and information to navigate readers through the story.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book were a little longer, but what a sobering, heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful look back at slavery and the emancipation of slaves.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This shares that due to advances in Civil War-era photography photographs were able to be take of slaves and former slaves to share the horrors of the practice. Additionally, some were able to sell their images to support themselves so that they could go on speaking engagements to speak to the horrors of the practice, some bare skin, insightful, RIP.

[Jonathan Schneiderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, and not just because it was nice to have a short Hist 1918 reading for once.