The word ‘enslaved person’ conveys bondage without stripping humanity

Evidence

This book uses a variety of terms to describe aspects of the era of slavery. In almost every case, the editors have avoided the word “slave” to describe persons held in bondage; the alternate term “enslaved person” accurately conveys the condition without stripping the individual of his or her humanity. In some instances where it does not refer to a person (e.g., “slave state”) and in some of the historical poetry and fiction, “slave” does appear. — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 14

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the editorial decision to prefer ‘enslaved person’ over ‘slave’ and explains the reasoning.
• XREF: Connects to a broader historiographic debate about person-first vs. condition-first terminology in slavery studies.