Enslaved people had no privacy rights under antebellum law but are owed them now
Evidence
Second, by widely publishing and distributing copies of Renty’s and Delia’s images of nearly naked bodies, the Museum and University have flagrantly violated Renty’s and Delia’s rights to privacy, which was certainly an anathema to antebellum law, but is an essential ingredient for archival practice. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 1233
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- ADDENDUM: Extends the thread of ‘decorum toward corpses’ — here the violation is of living dignity through naked images, paralleling the book’s concern with small dignifying acts in contexts that denied them.