“Family Confronts Its Slave-Trading Past: Local DeWolf descendant is featured in ‘P.O.V.’ documentary” was the headline in the P-I that caught my eye. I was intrigued because of my own history of growing up in South Carolina as a descendent of a slave-owning family. “Traces of the Trade: a Story from the Deep North” tells the story of the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history and of the journey undertaken by Seattle resident Elly DeWolfe Hale and eight of her cousins who retrace the Transatlantic Triangle Trade, which carried slaves between West Africa, the Caribbean and American colonies. Inheriting the Trade is Tom DeWolfe’s chronicle of his participation in the project.
Traces became a hot topic in the history and art department here at the Library. We decided to create a film and discussion series regarding the enduring effects of slavery. Facing the Future: Families Explore Slavery’s Legacy is a three-part series of documentaries and discussion which will explore how three different families face the effects the Transatlantic slave trade had and has on our lives today. Traces of the Trade will be the first film of the series on March 29 in the Microsoft Auditorium at 2 p.m.
Two other films in the series are on Sunday afternoons as well.
Yokes and Chains will be shown April 19 at 2 p.m.
Family Name will be shown June 21 at 2 p.m.
After each screening, there will be an opportunity for the audience to engage with panelists who have been selected because of their familiarity with the issues raised in the films. ~ Mary D
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