Making a Way Out of No Way: Lives of Labor, Love, and Resistance

The book tells the story of 150 years of slavery on tobacco plantations in Southern Maryland, featuring photos and stories that reflect the diversity of experience and the resilience of the enslaved people. Author royalties will be donated to Historic Sotterley's Descendant's Project.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 24 June 2024
Publisher: New Village Press

A richly imagined, photo-illustrated narrative of 150 years of life in slavery on tobacco plantations in Southern Maryland, "Slavery on Tobacco Plantations in Southern Maryland" by Merideth Taylor, offers a captivating glimpse into the lives of enslaved men, women, and children who toiled on these plantations for over 165 years. Through a combination of photographs and stories, Taylor seeks to understand how these individuals, subjected to a system designed to brutalize and dehumanize them, were able to not only survive but also build families and meaningful lives. The book departs from the traditional central figure and linear plot, instead presenting an interwoven collage of scenes and a diverse community of characters that reflect the diversity of experience, silences, and incompleteness of the historical record. Taylor's decision to largely avoid graphic depictions of the violence perpetrated on enslaved bodies allows the reader to focus on the remarkable resilience, ingenuity, skills, and cultural strengths that enabled them to make a way out of no way. The author has chosen to donate her royalties to Historic Sotterley's Descendant's Project, further contributing to the preservation and interpretation of this important historical site.

Weight: 771g
Dimension: 229 x 187 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781613322406