Her daughter about to be sold away, an enslaved mother carefully packs her a sack

"Her daughter about to be sold away, an enslaved mother carefully packs her a sack."

‘It is rare that we get to peer inside one of the hastily prepared bundles that sold or escaping enslaved people grasped in times of sudden change. Each item Rose packed for so significant a parting was both essential and versatile. The tattered dress could protect a body from exposure and shield an enslaved girl’s inner dignity. This piece is excerpted from Tiya’s book All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake and can be read in

The Harvard Gazette. Published June 22, 2021.