Documentary Presentation Jan. 11 Examines Legacy of Slave-Trading Family

Also appearing Jan. 11 is the author of a book on the discovery of his ancestors' slave-trading.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Durham, NC -- A filmmaker’s exploration of her family’s discovery of their historical involvement in the slave trade kicks off Duke University’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration Friday, Jan. 11.

Katrina Browne will discuss the making of her documentary “Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North,” at 7 p.m. in 153 Rubenstein Hall in the Sanford Institute. The presentation will include clips from the documentary in advance of its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 21. The public event is free. Directions are available here.

“Traces of the Trade” follows Browne and nine fellow descendants of the DeWolf family from Rhode Island as they travel the Triangle Trade route -- New England, Ghana and Cuba -- which their ancestors used to amass a fortune trading slaves, rum and sugar. The film’s release this month is timed to coincide with the bicentenary of the U.S. abolition of the slave trade.

“Dr. King challenged Americans to think about not just passing civil rights laws but looking at questions of economic justice and leveling the playing field,” Browne said. “So much of the economic inequality is a legacy of slavery -- it’s based in this historical wrong.”

“The majority of white Americans, we define ourselves as not racist and yet the system is still benefiting us,” she said. “It’s a hard conversation to have but it can be done in a respectful and even loving way and part of what I hope this film will do is invite people into that type of dialog.”

Also appearing at Duke on Jan. 11 is Thomas DeWolf, a relative of Browne’s who appears in the film. Based on his participation in the making of the documentary, DeWolf wrote the book “Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts Its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History.” He will read from the book at 2 p.m. in the Rare Book Room in Perkins Library.

“We use our family’s journey really as an invitation to people to deeply explore the issues that divide us from one another,” DeWolf said. “I think in that way we honor the legacy of Dr. King, as he lived his life and gave his life to try and break down these barriers that divide us.”

The two presentations are part of a series of events at Duke celebrating King. The events’ theme, “The Power of Youth,” focuses on caring for children and how college students can bring about social reform.

“Katrina Browne has produced a documentary that speaks with a refreshing and powerful degree of openness and self-disclosure about a difficult topic,” said Benjamin D. Reese Jr., a co-chair of Duke’s King commemoration and the university’s vice president for institutional equity. “It definitely stimulates a difficult, but necessary, American conversation. In the words of Dr. King, ‘We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’ ”

Other King events, free and open to the public, include:

-- A production of the “Secret Life of Bees” by the American Place Theatre. Based on the book by Sue Monk Kid, it follows a Southern teen-age girl who comes of age in the 1960s under the tutelage of three beekeeping sisters. The play has two showings in the Doris Duke Center at Duke Gardens: Friday, Jan. 18, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 19, at 11 a.m.

-- A program in Duke Chapel featuring a keynote address by Children’s Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20.

-- A performance by the African Children’s Choir, including traditional African songs, American spirituals and Christian praise music, at 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, in Page Auditorium.

-- A screening and discussion of the film “Durham: A Self-Portrait,” which chronicles the city’s role in aspects of American history such as race relations, industrialization and entrepreneurship. The event is at 7 p.m. in Griffith Film Theater in the Bryan Center.

-- The Million Meals volunteer service event, which will prepare pre-packaged meals for people in need of food around the world, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Walker Complex at North Carolina Central University.

The Duke Martin Luther King website has a full list of events, plus clips from King’s 1964 speech at Duke. For more information, contact Sharon Caple at sharon.caple@duke.edu or (919) 684-8353.