Who Speaks for Margaret Garner? Slavery, Silence, and the Politics of Ventriloquism

Abstract

81 In memory of Michael Rogin. Research on this article was supported by a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and aided by the research assistance of Sabrina Feve, Elise London, and Elissa Shevinsky. Preliminary versions were presented to audiences at Northwestern University, SUNY Albany, the Law and Society Association, and the American Political Science Association. This very different version owes much to the thoughtful written commentary of Samuel Delany, Tom Dumm, Abigail Jackson, Michael Rogin, Karen Sanchez-Eppler, and George Shulman. For their invitations, responses, and suggestions, I also thank Lauren Berlant, Stuart Clarke, Charles Dew, Peter Euben, Sophia Mihic, Sara Monoson, Shawn Rosenheim, Geoff Sanborn, Mort Schoolman, David L. Smith, my colleagues in the Williams College department of political science, and the students in my “Fugitive Identities” seminar. 1. ToniMorrison, “The Site of Memory,” in Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir, ed.William Zinsser (Boston, 1987), p. 109. Who Speaks for Margaret Garner? Slavery, Silence, and the Politics of Ventriloquism