Telling the Truth About Slavery
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – U. S. President John Adams
ASLAH Conference Presentations
Larry Kenneth Alexander, Founder and President of the Ida B. Wells Center on American Exceptionalism and Restorative Justice, had the honor of being allowed to give two presentations at the 110th Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) in Atlanta Georgia.
The presentation “Was Racial Slavery Legal Under English Law” was on September 24, and the second one “Something Old, Something New: The Criminal Enslavement of 500,000 Black Colonials and Afrofuturism in the 21st Century” was given on September 25.
Mr. Alexander was joined by Dr. Walter Greason, the Dewitt Wallace Professor of History at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota for both presentations. If you weren’t able to attend, you can watch the presentations in our video library.
Ida B. Wells Center on American Exceptionalism and Restorative Justice is committed to engaging, researching, and addressing the historical misapprehensions of the legality of colonial slavery.
We seek to debunk the myths and falsehoods surrounding colonial slavery by pulling on the thread that weaves current racial-biased structures with slave-based systems of the colonial past through Scholarship, Engagement, and Action.
We endeavor to change the social perceptions and racial prescriptive narratives of Blackness in America perpetrated and perpetuated by white predatory colonists in the criminal enterprise of slavery in colonial America.
We advocate for due process rights and legal recourse for the men and women unjustly enslaved by giving them a voice to be heard.
Learn more about The Wells Center and discover the hidden truths of American history in our series, Hidden in Books, created to celebrate Black History Month.
Where to Begin
Why Everything Changed
Learn how slavery in the U.S. was rooted in corrupt colonial practices, challenging its legality under British law and reshaping historical narratives.
The What Behind it All
Explore how English common law deemed slavery illegal in American colonies, challenging the legitimacy of colonial slave codes.
The Whatsoever
Explore how the Declaratory Act of 1766 asserted British legislative authority over American colonies, nullifying conflicting colonial laws and fueling revolutionary sentiments.
How it Impacts
Explore how the Declaratory Act of 1766 nullified colonial slave laws, redefining the legal and historical understanding of slavery in the U.S.
The Who Behind it All
Discover Elizabeth Key's 17th-century legal battle in Virginia, challenging hereditary slavery by asserting rights under English common law.
Tying the Knot
Uncover the criminal origins of slavery in the U.S. at the Ida B. Wells Center, exploring how corrupt colonial practices defied British law.
Historical Enslavement
Centuries of Building Empires through Racial Divide
