© Nona Faustine

Nona Faustine Visits New York’s Forgotten Slave Auction Sites

by Nick Lucchesi

July 15, 2015

© Nona Faustine

The ugly, hard-to-swallow truth is that New York — once the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam — was the capital of American slavery for more than 200 years. So deep were the city’s ties to slavery and the South that Mayor Fernando Wood even suggested seceding from the Union at the start of the Civil War. For the last several years, however, artist Nona Faustine has worked to shine a light on New York City’s buried legacy of slavery via a striking series of self-portraits titled “White Shoes.” Keep reading about Nona Faustine in this story by Jackson Connor. All photos courtesy of Nona Faustine.

Archive Highlights

POLITICS ARCHIVES

Al D’Amato: Hopelessly Corrupt

Senator Pothole Delivered — For Donald Trump, Manuel Noriega, Michael Milken, and Corporate Raiders

by Wayne Barrett

Originally published November 3, 1992
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The Threshold and the Jolt of Pain

“In our glib age the stutterer has been considered a kind of contemporary hero, a supposed Honest Man who is unable to gab with the media people.”

by Edward Hoagland

Originally published October 17, 1968
FEATURE ARCHIVES

Whiny White Guys

“White men are no longer the whole against which we measure all the parts, but one more angry special interest group. Once they were 'mankind,' now they're just another niche in the endless segmentation markers and identities.”

by Richard Goldstein

Originally published March 7, 1995
FILM ARCHIVES

Who Am I to Doubt the Jedi? ‘Return of the Jedi’ Reviewed

by Andrew Sarris

Originally published May 31, 1983
CRIME ARCHIVES

The Trial of the Chicago 7: Bobby Seale Case

“Movement leaders no longer face minor penalties, misdemeanor charges, and a few worthy months in jail. Seale, said Kunstler, faces the very real likelihood of execution. 'The fun has gone out of our practice. We now face a deadening responsibility.' ”

by Jonathan Black

Originally published September 4, 1969
CULTURE ARCHIVES

Andy Warhol: A Museum of His Own

“A Coke is a Coke,” Warhol once said, “and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.”

by Elizabeth Hess

Originally published May 24, 1994

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"Over My Dead Body," shot at New York City Hall, built atop an African burial ground.

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"She Gave All She Could Give And They Still Ask For More"

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"Of My Body I Will Make Monuments In Your Honor," shot at a Dutch pre-revolutionary cemetery in Brooklyn, where three slaves are buried among early settlers.

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From Her Body Sprang Their Greatest Wealth," shot at the site of a Colonial era slave market on Wall Street.

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"Like a Pregnant Corpse The Ship Expelled Her Into The Patriarchy," shot on the Atlantic coast in Brooklyn.

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"I Was Brought Here To Stay"

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