The ‘white’ slave children of New Orleans: Images of pale mixed-race slaves used to drum up sympathy among wealthy donors in 1860s |
Daily Mail
2012-02-28
When eight former slaves aimed to drum up support for struggling African-American schools in the 1860s, they believed they had just the thing.
In order to garner sympathy – and funds – from rich northerners as they toured the country, organisers from New Orleans portrayed the slaves as white for a propaganda campaign, using four children with mixed-race ancestry and pale complexions.
They believed the white faces of Charles Taylor, Rebecca Huger, Rosina Downs and Augusta Broujey would encourage donors to sympathise with the plight of recently-emancipated slaves and give more generously…
…They soon discovered it was near-impossible to find sympathy and support in a war-torn and racially-prejudiced county…
Read the entire article and view 11 other photographs here.
Tags: Daily Mail, Louisiana, New Orleans