© 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.

Most Popular

Theater

The Lyrical Artistry of Broadway’s “Pretty Woman” Musical Wouldn’t Pass Muster in a Febreze Commercial

by David Cote

August 16, 2018
Music

Aretha: The Voice of America

‘I celebrate having been a witness to her life, and mourn her passing because she was special, and we may not see her equal again’

by Carol Cooper

August 17, 2018
News & Politics

Prepare Yourselves, There Is No Immediate Fix for Hot Subway Stations

Technology exists to make it feel cooler while waiting on sweltering platforms, but the MTA isn’t likely to implement it anytime soon

by Aaron Gordon

August 16, 2018
Music

Aretha Franklin’s Hip-Hop Legacy in Five Songs

The ‘Queen of Soul’ was a favorite of producers from the Bomb Squad to Kanye West

by Phillip Mlynar

August 16, 2018
The Harpy

It’s OK to Be White, but It’s Not Enough

‘If you wish to celebrate yourself, to feel part of something bigger, to express pride in a heritage, you can do better than the cruel sucking nullity of whiteness’

by Talia Lavin

August 17, 2018
Theater

Carson McCullers’s “Member of the Wedding” Sustains a Powerful Atmosphere of Unease

by Howard Fishman

August 16, 2018

1/6

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

pinterest small

2/6

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

pinterest small

3/6

"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.

pinterest small

4/6

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

pinterest small

5/6

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

pinterest small

6/6

"I Was Brought Here To Stay"

pinterest small