African Post-Slavery: A History of the Future

... The term post-slavery refers to historical and social circumstances identifiable in contexts where slavery was a fundamental social institution and its legal abolition was followed by resilient legacies of past hierarchy and abuse. It is commonly used as an adjective, as in the expressions "post-slavery subjects," "post-slavery population," "post-slavery society," "post-slavery plantation," or "post-slavery literature."1 Although commonplace in studies of the Americas, it is less so-at least until recently-in Africanist research.