Princeton Wrestles with the Ghosts of Slavery
In connection with the Princeton & Slavery Project, Princeton’s McCarter Theatre has commissioned seven plays on the university’s historical ties to slavery. The group of renowned playwrights includes Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Nathan Alan Davis, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Dipika Guha, Regina Taylor, and the McCarter’s artistic director, Emily Mann.
Seeking to connect with a broad public audience, their plays offer an exciting approach to understanding the Princeton & Slavery Project’s findings. “History is dynamic,” writes Princeton & Slavery Project Director Martha Sandweiss (Professor of History). “It is not simply what happened in the past – it’s the stories we tell about it.”
The Princeton & Slavery plays breath life into histories captured in the archives, recasting Princeton as a haunted place, resonant with echoes of the past yet still full of new possibilities.