West African Slave Trade the Topic of CSUEB History Spring Speaker Event

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  • May 18, 2015

ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥’s history department will host its 11th annual Spring Speaker event on Tuesday, May 26 with San Francisco State University professor Trevor R. Getz presenting “A Graphic History: The Story of an Enslaved African Woman in Art and Text.” Getz’s talk will be focused on his best-known work, "Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History" (Oxford University Press, 2011). The free event begins at 6 p.m. in the Old University Union, Room 311, and is open to the public.

Getz is a specialist in Modern African History and the chair of the Academic Senate at SFSU. His book, based on his discovery of an 1876 court transcript of a West African woman, brings to life little-known elements of what was once one of the world’s most profitable commercial pursuits — the Atlantic Slave Trade. The book won the 2013-2014 James Harvey Robinson Prize from the American Historical Association and has become assigned reading in world history and African history courses throughout the United States, including at ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥, as well as in several other countries.

"Abina and the Important Men" is an example of new graphical histories that combine significant work in historical archives with carefully researched illustrations. It focuses on a West African woman who was enslaved, escaped, and ultimately took her case to court in British-controlled West Africa. The woman’s story crosses cultural, geographical, and temporal boundaries as she makes her case for compensation for her stolen rights against “important men” — merchants, lawyers and colonial officials — aiming to silence her.

CSUEB history professor Dee Andrews, the event organizer, first heard of "Abina and the Important Men" through lecturer Benjamin Klein, who assigned the book in his world history classes. “The history majors are big fans of 'Abina' and are especially eager to hear what Professor Getz will say about conceiving and writing graphical history,” Andrews said. “The history department especially thanks the Friends of History for making the History Spring Speaker event possible. The event each year enables us to provide a platform for public talks of wide import and interest to our community. We are certain that Professor Getz’s presentation will be meaningful not just for Cal State but for our wider neighborhood.”