Claiming Freedom

"Karen Cook Bell's beautifully written book is original and stimulating. A welcome addition to the growing literature on African American rural slavery, land ownership, and rice production. The study is a valuable and timely contribution to the expanding scholarship on the multifaceted West African roots of African Americans. The book is an example of insightful and rigorous investigative scholarship."—Alusine Jalloh, associate professor of history, founding director of the Africa Program, University of Texas at Arlington

"This succinct study is an important addition to our understanding of lowcountry Georgia, where rice was king during the antebellum period and continued to influence the lives of postwar African Americans. Bell's insightful analysis of the importance of 'oppositional communities' in securing autonomy is a welcome new chapter in the freedom narrative."—Edna Greene Medford, Howard University

"A thorough examination of rich archival records and a thoughtful writing style make Claiming Freedom an important book. With a focus on nineteenth-century rice plantations of lowcountry Georgia, Karen Cook Bell examines enslaved African Americans who resisted oppression to realize freedom and justice. The book explores the risks and rewards of freedmen and freedwomen who sought self-reliance by using material, cultural, and ideological tools to forge their future."—Janice L. Sumler-Edmond, author of The Secret Trust of Aspasia Cruvellier Mirault: The Life and Trials of a Free Woman of Color in Antebellum Georgia

2018 Georgia Board of Regents Excellence in Research Award