Evening Conversations: “The Many Colors of Justice: Black New Englanders in Connecticut’s Colonial Courts”

Black litigants regularly appeared in colonial Connecticut’scounty courts. Participating as plaintiffs, defendants, and third-partysubjects, free Black New Englanders in New London often relied on the courts toprotect their economic and social interests, especially when discrimination inthe community limited their ability to settle disputes informally. For the mostpart, Blacks entered a judicial process that tended to treat them more fairlythan the rest of colonial society. But one should not confuse Blackparticipation in New London’s legal culture with equality. Cases involvingenslaved Black New Englanders most often reinforced white settlers’expectations for economic and racial superiority.

Join Dr. Dominic DeBrincat, Chair of Social Sciences &Humanities and Associate Professor of History at Missouri Western StateUniversity, for a look at the experience of free and enslaved Black NewEnglanders in colonial New London’s county courts.

Register: https://bit.ly/OSH2023ColorsofJustice