By Her Hands: An Analysis of the Hidden Labor of Black Women at the Hugh Craft House Site in Holly Springs

This project unearths the hidden labor of Black women by analyzing architectural remains, artifacts, and primary and secondary documentary evidence surrounding the urban antebellum Hugh Craft House site in Holly Springs, Mississippi. This project considers the gap in theorizing the hidden labor of Black women in the seldom-researched setting of urban slavery. It also draws on household and Black feminist archaeology theories to uncover the hidden labor in the domestic spheres that the enslaved women were actively shaping. Research methods included watching clips of Behind the Big House tour interpretations; taking a Craft House tour in Holly Springs; looking at primary sources like Works Progress Administration slave narratives, and federal census records; cataloging and analyzing artifacts; and consulting secondary sources on antebellum households, household archaeology, and Black feminist archaeology. This research finds that the layout and architecture of the site were designed to give Black women restricted and hidden access to the main house. It also shows that although the Craft family and descendants still relied on Black labor, after the Civil War, the expectations for their labor were different

By Her Hands: An Analysis of the Hidden Labor of Black Women at the Hugh Craft House Site in Holly Springs

This project considers the gap in theorizing the hidden labor of Black women in the seldom-researched setting of urban slavery. The project unearths the hidden labor of Black women by analyzing architectural, primary, and secondary documentary evidence surrounding the urban antebellum Hugh Craft House site in Holly Springs, Mississippi. It draws on household and Black feminist archaeology theories to uncover the hidden labor in the domestic spheres that the enslaved women were actively shaping. Research methods included reviewing archival footage; site visits; examining primary sources; and consulting secondary sources on antebellum households, household archaeology, and Black feminist archaeology. This research finds that the layout and architecture of the site were designed to give Black women restricted and hidden access to the main house. It also shows that although the Craft family and descendants still relied on Black labor, after the Civil War, the expectations for their labor were different

Oral Presentations: Social Sciences II

Video is provided of MyKayla Williamson\u27s presentation

Posters

MyKayla Williamson (University of Mississippi). By Her Hands: An Analysis of the Hidden Labor of Black Women at the Hugh Craft Site in Holly Springs.This project considers the gap in theorizing the hidden labor of Black women in the seldom-researched setting of urban slavery. The project unearths the hidden labor of Black women by analyzing architectural, primary, and secondary documentary evidence surrounding the urban antebellum Hugh Craft House site in Holly Springs, Mississippi. It draws on household and Black feminist archaeology theories to uncover the hidden labor in the domestic spheres that the enslaved women were actively shaping. Research methods included watching clips of Behind the Big House tour interpretations; taking a Craft House tour in Holly Springs; examining primary sources like Works Progress Administration narratives, and federal census records; and consulting secondary sources on antebellum households, household archaeology, and Black feminist archaeology. This research finds that the layout and architecture of the site were designed to give Black women restricted and hidden access to the main house. It also shows that although the Craft family and descendants still relied on Black labor, after the Civil War, the expectations for their labor were different. Key words: historical archaeology, black feminist, hidden labor. Rory M. Fallmer (Davidson College) Skeletons in the Closet: Investigating and Consolidating Davidson College’s Collection of Human Skeletal Remains.Davidson College’s teaching collection of human skeletal remains is deeply embedded in the college’s nearly 200-year history, and no complete record exists of the collection in its entirety or for most of the individual remains. In the initial stages of my research, I encountered conflicting information on the existence of different remains and a distinct absence of empathy, humanity, and dignity in how the remains were treated. My research aims to remedy the lack of care and consensus by consolidating the collection, investigating its origins, creating a complete record of the human skeletal remains, and establishing a system of accountability and respect to be used by future custodians of the collection. Through my library research, I seek to situate this project within the broader history of osteological collections and the role structural violence has played in their creation. Key words: human skeletal remains, structural violence, ethical curation, dignity