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bahareads 's review for:
Black Litigants in the Antebellum American South
by Kimberly M. Welch
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Black Litigants is a historical study of free and enslaved Blacks and their use of local courts in the antebellum Natchez region. Through looking at Black litigants, Welsh seeks to have readers reevaluate their understanding of the relationship between Black people, claims-making, racial exclusion, and the legal system in the South. This is a study of claim-making and the language of property.
The book is a story of black advocacy and accountability, not resistance and autonomy. The text is comparative between counties in Louisiana and Mississippi to show Louisiana is not as unique as some scholars have claimed. The book is laid out thematically and split into two parts: Black people’s tactics in courts and why they went to court.
The book shows who had access to the power of the law and under what circumstances in the Antebellum South. The definition of personhood throughout the text is understood in the legal recognition and protection of self-ownership to one’s person, body, and labour. Legal personhood and actual personhood were different, but both were understood in terms of gender and race.
Through these stories, Black litigants were able to reimagine their place and relationships in the world around them. Storytelling forced white slaveholders to look at Black people as humans and not property.
Welsh says Courtroom language was performed but performed according to the “rules”. However, there was space within the rules for composing narratives that suited Black litigants. Stressing that authorship should not be confused with authentic truth, Welsh says the genre of composition leaves freedom while constraining the author to create a narrative that whites could understand.
Property was used to anchor a person to a power system, as Welsh says. It gave people of colour the capital and confidence to pursue legal actions and employ the court in their favour which unsettled some white people. Property rights were civil rights to Black people.
Welsh’s monograph provides excellent insight into how Black litigants used the courts for their advocacy and is a great resource for legal history.
The book is a story of black advocacy and accountability, not resistance and autonomy. The text is comparative between counties in Louisiana and Mississippi to show Louisiana is not as unique as some scholars have claimed. The book is laid out thematically and split into two parts: Black people’s tactics in courts and why they went to court.
The book shows who had access to the power of the law and under what circumstances in the Antebellum South. The definition of personhood throughout the text is understood in the legal recognition and protection of self-ownership to one’s person, body, and labour. Legal personhood and actual personhood were different, but both were understood in terms of gender and race.
Through these stories, Black litigants were able to reimagine their place and relationships in the world around them. Storytelling forced white slaveholders to look at Black people as humans and not property.
Welsh says Courtroom language was performed but performed according to the “rules”. However, there was space within the rules for composing narratives that suited Black litigants. Stressing that authorship should not be confused with authentic truth, Welsh says the genre of composition leaves freedom while constraining the author to create a narrative that whites could understand.
Property was used to anchor a person to a power system, as Welsh says. It gave people of colour the capital and confidence to pursue legal actions and employ the court in their favour which unsettled some white people. Property rights were civil rights to Black people.
Welsh’s monograph provides excellent insight into how Black litigants used the courts for their advocacy and is a great resource for legal history.