In the 19th Century, It Became Harder to Perceive What Blackness Was

At “What Does Blackness Mean?”, a Zócalo/Getty “Open Art” event at the Getty Museum, Harvard art historian Sarah E. Lewis explains one of the reasons the 19th century was a pivotal one in understanding the color black, especially in the sense of who was black. She shares the story of Ellen Craft, a fair-skinned woman from Georgia who escaped from slavery by posing as a white male plantation owner.


×

Send A Letter To the Editors

    Please tell us your thoughts. Include your name and daytime phone number, and a link to the article you’re responding to. We may edit your letter for length and clarity and publish it on our site.

    (Optional) Attach an image to your letter. Jpeg, PNG or GIF accepted, 1MB maximum.