Part 2 of our interview with Shannon Eaves. "Her book, Sexual Violence and American Slavery: The Making of a Rape Culture in the Antebellum South, was published by UNC Press in 2024. This study examines how the rape and sexual exploitation of enslaved women created a rape culture that was woven into the very fabric of antebellum society, influencing daily life for both the enslaved and enslavers....Shannon earned her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and currently serves as an Associate Professor of African American History here at the College of Charleston. She is a specialist in 19th century U.S. History, African American History, and Slavery and Gender in the Antebellum South" (Faculty page).  "It is impossible to separate histories of sexual violence and the enslavement of Black women in the antebellum South. Rape permeated the lives of all who existed in that system: Black and white, male and female, adult and child, enslaved and free. Shannon C. Eaves unflinchingly investigates how both enslaved people and their enslavers experienced the systematic rape and sexual exploitation of bondswomen and came to understand what this culture of sexualized violence meant for themselves and others. Eaves mines a wealth of primary sources including autobiographies, diaries, court records, and more to show that rape and other forms of sexual exploitation entangled slaves and slave owners in battles over power to protect oneself and one’s community, power to avenge hurt and humiliation, and power to punish and eliminate future threats" (UNC Press).

The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it

as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in

print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today!

Witherspoon is from New Orleans and is best known for her role

in Legally Blonde and Walk the Line.

Bonzano, physician, minter, administrator. Born, Ebingen,

Germany, March 22, 1821, arrived in New Orleans, 1835, working

first in a printing office as a roller boy and then as

printer, which provided opportunity to master the English

language. Morally opposed to slavery. Also opposed secession

and refused to serve the Confederacy. He was elected from his

district as a delegate to the state's 1864 constitutional

convention, where he chaired the committee on emancipation and

personally wrote the ordinance which freed Louisiana's slaves.

He lived in the mansion which had served as the headquarters

of Gen. Andrew Jackson.

Cane River Creole National Park

The Texas and Pacific Railway Depot

Oakland and Magnolia Plantations

9:00 am - 3:00 pm daily

Natchez, LA

Website

The Cane River region is home to a unique culture; the

Creoles. Generations of the same families of workers, enslaved

and tenant, and owners lived on these lands for over 200

years. The park tells their stories and preserves the cultural

landscape of Oakland and Magnolia Plantations, two of the most

intact Creole cotton plantations in the United States.

    The hours of operation for Oakland

Plantation and Magnolia Plantation are 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The plantation grounds, trails, outbuildings, and visitor

restrooms are open daily. Guided tours are available Wednesday

through Sunday at both sites. The park store, located in the

historic Oakland Plantation Store is also open Wednesday

through Sunday. The Oakland Plantation Main House is only open

on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for

self-guided tours. The park does not offer visitors services,

such as guided tours and shopping at the park store on Mondays

and Tuesdays.

    The Texas and Pacific Railway Depot in

Natchitoches serves as the park visitor center. The depot is

open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

   The park is open daily year-round with the

exception of ALL federal holidays.

Natchitoches. 

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