Robert Colby, assistant professor of history at the University of Mississippi, will discuss his new book, An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South (Oxford University Press, 2024).

An Unholy Traffic explains how slave trading helped Southerners survive, fight the Civil War and build the future for which they fought. They bought and sold enslaved people to navigate food shortages, unsettled gender roles, the demands of military service, and other hardships on the homefront. Some Rebels speculated wildly in human property, investing in slaves to ward off inflation. Others traded people to counter the advance of emancipation. For those held in slavery, the surviving slave trade dramatically shaped their pursuit of freedom, inserting a retrograde movement into some people's journeys toward liberty while inspiring others to make the risky decision to escape.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration on Eventbrite.com is required! Paid parking is available nearby at the Central Grounds Parking Garage located near the UVA bookstore.