Would the United States have developed differently if Virginia had not passed a law in 1670 proclaiming all subsequently arriving Africans as servants for life, or slaves? What if the state had not stripped all Free Blacks and Indians of voting rights in 1723, or outlawed interracial sex for 337 years?
Complicated Lives upends the pervasive belief that all Africans landing on the shores of Virginia, beginning in late August 1619, became slaves. In reality, many of these kidnap victims received the status of indentured servants. Indeed, hundreds of thousands of free African Americans in the South and North owned property, created businesses, and engaged in public service. Complicated Lives further explores the lives of Free Blacks through the lens of the author’s ancestors and other Free Blacks who lived this history, including those who served in the integrated troops commanded by George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Complicated Lives in the media
2020 New Mexico-Arizona Books Awards Cover Design Winner
2020 New Mexico-Arizona Books Awards History Finalist
All Things Considered interview: Barbershop: Reckoning With The History Of Slavery
KUMN interview: Book And Exhibit Offer Surprising Revelations About Slavery Before Civil War
Washington Post: Aaron Burr — villain of ‘Hamilton’ — had a secret family of color, new research shows
CNN: Aaron Burr, the Vice President best known for shooting Alexander Hamilton, had a secret biracial family
Smithsonian Magazine: 155 Years After His Death, Abolitionist John Pierre Burr's Epitaph Updated to Include His Father, Aaron Burr
The Guardian: Aaron Burr, vice-president who killed Hamilton, had children of color
The Independent: Why has America taken so long to confront its dark history?
Albuquerque Journal: Puzzle solved: UNM professor traces roots back to Aaron Burr
SouthWest Writers: An Interview With Author Sherri L. Burr
Princeton & Slavery: Aaron Burr Jr. and John Pierre Burr: A Founding Father and his Abolitionist Son