Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 as a member of the Igbo tribe in modern-day Nigeria. While detailing the atrocities of the middle passage, Tisby cites Equiano's 1789 autobiography. In his writings, Equiano details the horror of his kidnapping by slave traders, his separation from his sister, and his fight to secure his freedom years later. The quoted passages of Equiano's autobiography, appear in Chapter 2, and reinforce Tisby's assertions about colonizers' abhorrent abuse of enslaved Africans.

Thomas Bray

Thomas Bray was one of the Anglican church leader who founded the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) in 1971. The organization was based on and promoted evangelical and paternalist ideals. Missionaries involved with SPG preached the importance of salvation to black and indigenous peoples, while holding that the faith would not free enslaved individuals. Bray's work inspired a litany of other missionaries and preachers to...