by Tiya Miles
First published 2017
Historian Tiya Miles challenges the common belief that slavery existed only in the South. She demonstrates that Detroit, often seen as a northern refuge for escaped slaves, actually depended on enslaved labor from its earliest days. Miles reconstructs the lives of both Native American and African American enslaved people in this remote frontier settlement. She pieces together fragmentary historical records to reveal previously unknown figures and their struggles for freedom. The book shows how Detroit sat at the crossroads of national and international conflicts while maintaining its own system of bondage. Miles exposes the gap between America's promises of liberty and the reality of unfreedom in the early Midwest. Her research adds new dimensions to our understanding of a city that continues to capture public attention today.
Genres: history, 20th-century, 21st-century, 19th-century, african-american-historical-fiction, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, social-justice
Setting: Detroit, Midwest
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
336 pages · Hardcover · The New Press
Content warnings: slavery