Speaking the unspeakable; or providing the evidence without being censored

Abstract

This article is about the difficulties inherent in using the racist tropes resulting from the transatlantic slave trade to address the chronic persistence of systemic racism. The problem with revealing horrific material – such as the fugitive slave ads I cite from early nineteenth-century Barbados newspapers – is that they raise the risk of causing offence. Yet the point of speaking the unspeakable is to move towards telling truths revealing both the brutality of enslavers and the ingenuity and courage of enslaved individuals who resisted. By focusing on the heroism of people in the fugitive slave ads I shift attention away from the White legislators typically credited with abolition and towards people who consistently resisted enslavement. My account of navigating the treacherous territory of speaking the unspeakable resolves as a cautionary tale about making sure that unspeakable, long concealed material is buffered with trigger warnings and careful explanations as to why it is being revealed.