Applying the term survivors to enslaved people was a novel, courageous frame in 1977

Evidence

I had never thought of Renty and Delia as survivors—until Ellie put it that way. We talk about the survivors of the Holocaust, but not of slavery. I would also expect that kind of elevated understanding today—but not in 1977. It was so courageous. Her tenacity and humanity drove her to piece together this story—to reveal Louis Agassiz for who he really was. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 750

Categorization

• CANDY: A compact, striking observation about how the ‘survivor’ category excludes the enslaved.