Amanda Kemp
Amanda Kemp is an American historian and playwright.[1] She is known for raising awareness of the legacy of slavery.
In 2008 Kemp made a documentary film about her efforts to raise awareness that, prior to turning against slavery, founding father Benjamin Franklin had owned slaves himself.[1]
In 1783, while Franklin and John Jay were on a diplomatic mission in Paris a servant of the Jays, Abigail, ran away from the Jay household.[1] Slavery, while legal in France's colonies, was not legal in Metropolitan France, and Abigail had every right to leave her employment with the Jays. Nevertheless, with the advice and assistance of Franklin, and his nephew William Temple Franklin, the Jays were able to have Abigail apprehended and imprisoned.[2]
Kemp was concerned when a French museum prepared a gallery devoted to Benjamin Franklin, that failed to address his early slave ownership, or his efforts to re-enslave Abigail.[1] She traveled to Paris to work on a documentary film about her efforts to educate museum-goers about Franklin's association with slavery.
Kemp is the author of Stop Being Afraid – 5 Steps to Transforming Your Conversations about Racism.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jeff Hawkes (2008-04-15). "A life hidden in shadows of slavery, revealed". Lancaster online. Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20211127234010/https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/a-life-hidden-in-shadows-of-slavery-revealed/article_2de50804-aae9-55c0-9749-e7f6143c5b67.html. Retrieved 2021-11-27. "Last month, Kemp flew to Paris anyway, and with a French documentary maker recording her conversations with museumgoers and her recitations on the sidewalk, in a gallery and at a soiree, Kemp paid homage to Abby's ill-fated bid for freedom. People finally heard about Abby."
- ↑ Martha S. Jones (2021-11-23). "Enslaved to a Founding Father, She Sought Freedom in France". The New York Times: p. A11. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20211123101037/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/travel/john-jay-paris-abigail-slavery.html. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- ↑ Scott LaMar (2020-01-20). "How to talk about racism". WITF. https://www.witf.org/2020/01/20/how-to-talk-about-racism/. Retrieved 2021-11-27. "On Monday’s Smart Talk, we’re joined by Dr. Amanda Kemp, Ph.D., a Lancaster activist, performer and author of Stop Being Afraid – 5 Steps to Transforming Your Conversations about Racism, along with Erika Fitz, editor of the book and Senior Trainer for the Racial Justice from the Heart workshops."
