Synopses & Reviews
A trailblazing memoir about one family's quest to face its slave-trading past, and an urgent call for reconciliation.
In 2001, Thomas DeWolf discovered that he was related to the most successful slave-trading family in United States history, responsible for transporting at least 10,000 Africans. His ancestor, U.S. senator James DeWolf of Bristol, Rhode Island, continued in the trade after it was outlawed, dying the second-richest man in America in 1837.
Thomas DeWolf's cousin Katrina Browne produced and directed the documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, which follows her, Thomas, and eight other family members as they retrace their ancestors' steps through the notorious triangle trade route — from New England to West Africa to Cuba. The film premiered in the documentary competition of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and Inheriting the Trade is Thomas's powerful memoir of their life-altering journey.
Review
"Exploring the links between a grand Rhode Island mansion and dungeons in Ghana, Tom DeWolf traces the infernal trade that gave his family, and this country, great wealth and power. His journey into the past forces painful questions to the surface, and illuminates our present." Henry Wiencek, Winner of the National Book Critics' Circle Award and author of An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America
Review
"Thomas DeWolf's personal journey into his family's long hidden slave trading past is a compelling invitation to explore how our country and many institutions, including churches, benefited from this dark chapter. Such exploration is essential if we are to move forward to a place of repair and racial reconciliation." Frank T. Griswold, 25th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
Review
"[A] soul-searching memoir." School Library Journal
Review
"DeWolf's intimate confrontation with white America's 'unearned privilege' sears the conscience." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"This soul-searching memoir...promotes conversation about 'truth of the past and its impact on the present." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Required reading for anyone interested in reconciliation." Myrlie Evers-Williams, civil rights leader and author of The Autobiography of Medgar Evers
Review
"Inheriting the Trade is like a slow motion mash up, a first-person view from within one of the country's founding families as it splinters, then puts itself back together again." Edward Ball, author of Slaves in the Family
Synopsis
A trailblazing memoir about one family's quest to face its slave-trading past, and an urgent call for reconciliation.
In 2001, Thomas DeWolf discovered that he was related to the most successful slave-trading family in U.S. history, responsible for transporting at least ten thousand Africans. This is his memoir of the journey in which ten family members retraced their ancestors' steps through the notorious triangle trade route — from New England to West Africa to Cuba — and uncovered the hidden history of New England and the other northern states.
Synopsis
In 2001, Thomas DeWolf discovered that he was related to the most successful slave-trading family in U.S. history, responsible for transporting at least ten thousand Africans. This is his memoir of the journey in which ten family members retraced their ancestors' steps through the notorious triangle trade route—from New England to West Africa to Cuba—and uncovered the hidden history of New England and the other northern states.
About the Author
Thomas Norman DeWolf was born in California and educated at the University of Oregon. He served as city councilor, county commissioner, and for nine years on the Oregon Arts Commission. His years of public service focused on literacy, children's issues, and restorative justice. A member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, he lives with his wife in Oregon.