In 1859, at the largest recorded slave auction in American history, over 400 men, women, and children were sold by the Butler Plantation estates. This book is one of the first to analyze the operation of this auction and trace the lives of slaves before, during, and after their sale. Immersing herself in the personal papers of the Butlers, accounts from journalists that witnessed the auction, genealogical records, and oral histories, Anne C. Bailey weaves together a narrative that brings the auction to life. Demonstrating the resilience of African American families, she includes interviews from the living descendants of slaves sold on the auction block, showing how the memories of slavery have shaped people's lives today. Using the auction as the focal point, The Weeping Time is a compelling and nuanced narrative of one of the most pivotal eras in American history, and how its legacy persists today.

In 1859, at the largest recorded slave auction in American history, over 400 men, women, and children were sold by the Butler Plantation estates. This book is one of the first to analyze the operation of this auction and trace the lives of slaves before, during, and after their sale. Immersing herself in the personal papers of the Butlers, accounts from journalists that witnessed the auction, genealogical records, and oral histories, Anne C. Bailey weaves together a narrative that brings the auction to life. Demonstrating the resilience of African American families, she includes interviews from the living descendants of slaves sold on the auction block, showing how the memories of slavery have shaped people's lives today. Using the auction as the focal point, The Weeping Time is a compelling and nuanced narrative of one of the most pivotal eras in American history, and how its legacy persists today.

For centuries, the stories of the Transatlantic Trade in Africans has been filtered through the eyes and records of Europeans. In this seminal work, historian Anne C. Bailey focuses on memories of the trade from the African perspective. African chiefs and other elders from the area of the former old slave coast of southeastern Ghana, share stories that reveal that Africans were traders as well as victims of the trade. Bailey argues that like victims of trauma, many African societies now experience a fragmented view of their past that partially explains the blanket of silence and shame around the slave trade. Capturing scores of oral histories handed down through generations of storytellers, Bailey finds that although Africans were not equal partners with Europeans, even their partial involvement in the slave trade had devastating consequences on their history and identity. Bailey breaks the deafening silence and explores the delicate and fragmented nature of historical memory in this unprecedented and revelatory book which is bound to spark discussion and debate.