Description
Book SynopsisHistorians have long considered the diary of William Johnson to be among the most significant sources on free African Americans living in the antebellum South. Timothy Buckner reexamines Johnson’s life using recent scholarship on Black masculinity as an essential lens, demonstrating a complexity to Johnson previously overlooked in academic studies.
Trade ReviewTimothy R. Buckner skillfully examines William Johnson's life and experiences with this rich case study, serving to illuminate vital issues surrounding race, politics, and power in Natchez, Mississippi, and the Lower South. Buckner's emphasis on the multifaceted nature of Black manhood in and out of slavery, and on the structural forces that shaped actions and identities in the antebellum South, makes this a critical addition to the field." - David Stefan Doddington, author of
Contesting Slave Masculinity in the American South"Buckner's close inspection of the diary of William Johnson provides a nuanced picture of its author and his story. The book corrects interpretative mistakes made by scholars and situates this important primary document within a much-changed and updated historiography on antebellum free Black life, free Black slaveholding, Black and southern masculinity, as well as the prewar frontier and urban South." - Libra R. Hilde, author of
Slavery, Fatherhood, and Paternal Duty in African American Communities over the Long Nineteenth Century
