The Devil's half acre : the untold story of how one woman liberated the South's most notorious slave jail / Kristen Green.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Green, Kristen (Journalist), author.

Contributor:

Rosengarten Family Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lumpkin, Mary F.

Virginia Union University (Richmond, Va.)--History--19th century.

Virginia Union University (Richmond, Va.).

African American women--Virginia--Richmond--Biography.

African American women.

Enslaved women--Virginia--Richmond--Biography.

Enslaved women.

Slave trade--Virginia--Richmond--History--19th century.

Slave trade.

Jails--Virginia--Richmond--History--19th century.

Jails.

Virginia--Richmond.

Genre:

Biography.

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 332 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Seal Press, 2022.

Summary:

"While Confederate statues are brought down across the country, America is reckoning with its tumultuous past and the legacy of the darker chapters of our history. In The Devil's Half Acre, New York Times bestselling author Kristen Green draws on years of deep research to tell the extraordinary hidden story of young Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who sought freedom and lit a path for liberation for thousands more. Enslaved and separated from her family when she was a child, Mary Lumpkin, born 1832, was later forced to secretly marry and have the children of the brutal slave-trader Robert Lumpkin. Together they lived on the premises of his notoriously cruel slave jail in Richmond, Virginia, known as the 'Devil's Half Acre.' In this destitute setting, Mary Lumpkin not only found a way to educate and free her children-and herself-but she managed to create something monumental. When Robert Lumpkin died and left his jail to Mary, she rented The Devil's Half Acre to a Baptist missionary and helped transform it into 'God's Half Acre,' a place where freed Black men could be educated. These same grounds where enslaved people were tortured and held before slave auctions eventually became the cornerstone for Virginia Union University, one of the nation's first HBCUs, which is still open today. Richly told and dramatically paced, The Devil's Half Acre reckons with America's heartbreaking past. Ultimately, Mary Lumpkin's story demonstrates that righting unspeakable wrongs can not only heal, but can empower generations to come"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Chosen Ones

2. "That Which Is Brought Forth Follows the Womb"

3. The Thing We Can't Name

4. So Well Acquainted

5. Anthony Burns and the Fugitive Slave Act

6. Leaving the South

7. Richmond Families in Philadelphia

8. Capital of the Confederacy

9. After the War

10. "God's Half Acre".

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rosengarten Family Fund.

ISBN:

9781541675636

1541675630

OCLC:

1262966049