Black Abolitionist Performances and their Presence in Britain

BL Labs Competition 2016:Black Abolitionist Performances in Britain

Hannah-Rose MurrayPhD Student, University of Nottingham

Black Abolitionists

Leamington Spa Courier20 February 1847

Aberdeen Journal, 14 April 1847“Frederick Douglass, The Emancipated

Slave”

Aberdeen Journal, 5 February 1851“Fugitive Slaves”

“Positive” Words

                   "slavery",                   "pro-slavery",                   "slave",                   "fugitive",                   "slaveholder",                   "slaveholding",                   "respectable",                   "detersive",                   "abolition"

colourednegroamericanfugitive slavenegro slavelynchinglecturernegro lecturer black

Overproof: OCR Correction – Abolitionist Text

Overproof: OCR Correction – Non-Abolitionist Text

Classifier Results

The First Website…

The New Site…

Map of Black Abolitionist Speaking Locations

Map of Frederick Douglass’ Speaking Locations in Britain

Map of Black Abolitionist Speaking Locations

British Library Living Knowledge Network

Events and Public EngagementA Performance by

Joe Williams & Martelle Edinborough

Black Abolitionist Walking Tour

Ida B. Wells – famous activist who fought

against lynching

Final Thoughts…With thanks to:

• Mahendra Mahey (Labs Team, BL)• Ben O’Steen (Labs Team, BL)• Hana Lewis (Labs Team, BL)• Adam Farquhar (Digital Scholarship)• Joe Williams and Martelle Edinborough • Emma Fuente• Adam Jones-Lloyd• Fran Fuentes (Eccles Centre)• Emma Morgan (BL)• Ella Snell (BL)• Kent Fitch (OverProof)• Isabel Martinez (Centre of Competence)• Dr. Mike Gardner (University of Nottingham)• Professor Zoe Trodd (University of Nottingham)