Mapping Slavery in Detroit

[Pam]

"Professor Tiya Miles and a team of students have spent two years researching the history of slavery in Detroit, mapping the locations and lives of slaves and former slaves and reclaiming an essential part of the city’s history."

http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/ci.mapp...roit_ci.detail

[Jimaz]

I could envision someone developing an augmented reality application where historic images [[log cabins, whipping posts, etc.) were superimposed in 3D through Google glasses over live images of Detroit parking lots.

Imagine that. Decoupling time from space, allowing history to be experienced as if it were in the present!

MappingDetroitSlavery.com

[sumas]

Thank you Pam. That was enlightening. Many interesting discussions resulted with friends and neighbors. I always thought of Detroit as being enlightened and part of the underground railroad. Guess I was wrong. History is important and kudos for revealing untruths about a terrible time in our history

[Hermod]

Quibble: While they may well have been related, Macomb St and Macomb County were named after Maj Gen Alexander Macomb, hero of the War of 1812 [[battle of Plattsburgh). Gov Lewis Cass named the county after him. Alexander Macomb was born in Detroit and may have been a relative of the slaveholder mentioned in the article.

[old guy]

I could envision someone developing an augmented reality application where historic images [[log cabins, whipping posts, etc.) were superimposed in 3D through Google glasses over live images of Detroit parking lots.

Imagine that. Decoupling time from space, allowing history to be experienced as if it were in the present!

MappingDetroitSlavery.com

Jimaz,the information that you provide is amazing. Keep it coming.

[Danny]

There used to be slavery in Detroit. That was back in before the English took over the Great Lakes Region before 1763. In Fort Pontchartrain one French nobleman who was a ribbon farmer and a fur trapper have one female negro slave. Her name was unknown. Her body was found at small grave site at the lower east side during construction of several building projects for elites somewhat in the late 1800s. It's was dubbed "the Unknown Negress".

[canuck]

Danny, here is a pretty interesting account of a famous slave in New France, and the controversy over the fact that she may have set fire to a part of Montreal in the early 1700's. There is a lot of documentation like french court records of her trial available on the web.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Joseph_Angélique

[Willi]

Nice to know in 2014 we live
in an integrated peaceful society
where all races/ethnicities cooperate
to build a prosperous metropolitan area

[Wesley Mouch]

Nice to know in 2014 we live in an integrated peaceful society where all races/ethnicities cooperate to build a prosperous metropolitan area

It really is amazing. When I was young 50 years ago, I knew no inter-racial families, and there were no to few blacks in my father's department in the progressive administration of Cavanaugh. No victory lap intended. But I suggest that we often miss the progress when we look so hard for the problems.

[FormerDetroiter]

Nice to know in 2014 we live
in an integrated peaceful society
where all races/ethnicities cooperate
to build a prosperous metropolitan area

@Willi....We do???

[Willi]

I do, what about you ?
Within a stones throw of my house
there are a bakers dozen of various
skin colors, languages, ethnicities,
races, and everyone gets along fine.

[Wesley Mouch]

I do, what about you ?
Within a stones throw of my house
there are a bakers dozen of various
skin colors, languages, ethnicities,
races, and everyone gets along fine.

We can see here, a statement of racial harmony -- and zero interest by the forum. Meanwhile, claim of micro-aggressions in the media get blown out of proportion. I'm sure there are racists out there. But my experience is that racism is in swift decline, and we should be celebrating the successes, not seeking the exceptional failures by members of a dwindling minority.

Am I nearly alone in this?

[[And that said, I find the topic of Slavery in Detroit to be very worthwhile and hope to hear more. And it sounds like an opportunity to blame the French. We don't get those often!)