Depictions of Slavery in Confederate and Southern States Currency
Original Acrylic on Canvas Paintings by

Artist Statement page 4

Legacy. Slavery’s destructive images of racism and discrimination prevailed through a century of Jim Crow laws and segregation, and bring the story directly to the issue of reparations in notes, such as that depicted in Georgia Slaves, which tie modern corporations to the profits of slave labor. The National Reparations Committee recently sued CSX Corporation in Federal courts for its role during slavery. CSX Corporation is the present day owner of Atlantic and Gulf Railroad of Georgia, the company that issued the note with Georgia Slaves. More researchers have been able to establish more connections to present day corporations that benefited from slavery as a result of exposure to these paintings and currencies.

Most of the Confederate currency printed prior to the Civil War was printed not in the South but in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. It is one more example how slavery’s profits were enjoyed by the entire nation. The paintings help to create a more enlightened public opinion on the much debated question of whether the United States owes and should pay reparations to African Americans for centuries of past slavery and racial discrimination that have unjustly benefited and prospered the nation.

Overall, the engraved images show the slaves as happy, well-treated, and healthy workers in an  “unnatural” state of bliss. We do not see hardships, such as slaves being whipped. These images of slavery by engravers of that period are similar to the work of present day photo–journalists, except the positive slave images were used as propaganda. They were designed to actively affirm and aggressively promote the slave labor system of their plantation economy.

As I conclude, my experience researching this project has shown me that the most beautiful American Dream experience is the history of African Americans from slavery to present day. Many African Americans are ashamed of our slavery history, and many whites feel guilty about American slave history. My hope is that the exhibition Confederate Currency: The Color of Money will inspire discussions on the legacy of slavery and somehow help to remove the shame African Americans feel and remove the guilt whites feel when slavery is discussed.