Wicked Flesh

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The narrative of freedom, marked by its complexities, begins with intimate acts infused with power, particularly reflecting the unique oppressions faced by African women and those of African descent. Central to this story are the conscious choices made by black women to assert control over their bodies, loved ones, and futures. The rise of slavery in the Americas was not only institutional but also deeply personal and reproductive, intertwining the lives of slaveowners, traders, and colonial officials with fantasies of domination that permeated social relationships—between husbands and wives, sovereigns and subjects, masters and laborers. Intimacy, whether corporeal or everyday, connected slaves to their owners and women of African descent to men of various backgrounds. Jessica Marie Johnson investigates these intricate kinship ties, revealing how black women utilized them to forge freedom within the Atlantic world. By examining archival documents from diverse locations and perspectives, Johnson reconstructs the experiences of black women from Senegal to Cuba and the Gulf Coast. Focusing on New Orleans as a pivotal site for understanding these practices, the work illustrates how African women and their descendants imbued the concept of freedom with significance through their intimate and kinship practices, shaping the foundations for the emancipation movements of the nineteenth century and transforming the New World.