Identity and Treatment: Mapping the Black Loyalist Diaspora
Faculty Mentor
Julie de Chantal
Location
Russell Union Ballroom
Type of Research
Completed
Session Format
Poster Presentation
College
College of Arts & Humanities
Department
History
Abstract
Following the end of the American Revolution in 1783, thousands of men, women, and children of African descent who fought and supported the British journeyed with loyalists first to New York City, then to Nova Scotia, Canada, in the hope of finding freedom, a new life, and new opportunities. Rare passports, letters, and artworks document and detail this journey, providing insight into the lives of these Black loyalists from one country to the next. However, while historians have analyzed the Black loyalist movement in the Americas, they rarely examine the documents that connect individual loyalists from North America to Sierra Leone and the African continent as a whole. In this poster presentation, I will share my experience curating a digital exhibit that provides insight into the lives of the Black loyalists by using primary documents that pose risks of being lost or destroyed. Then, I will analyze how curating an exhibit centered on rare documents allows historians to protect marginalized stories and study the diasporic migration patterns of Black loyalists from the United States to Nova Scotia, and then to Sierra Leone.
Program Description
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Start Date
4-23-2026 2:00 PM
End Date
4-23-2026 4:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Taylor Williams, Ariana, "Identity and Treatment: Mapping the Black Loyalist Diaspora" (2026). GS4 Student Scholars Symposium. 264.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2026/2026/264
Identity and Treatment: Mapping the Black Loyalist Diaspora
Russell Union Ballroom
Following the end of the American Revolution in 1783, thousands of men, women, and children of African descent who fought and supported the British journeyed with loyalists first to New York City, then to Nova Scotia, Canada, in the hope of finding freedom, a new life, and new opportunities. Rare passports, letters, and artworks document and detail this journey, providing insight into the lives of these Black loyalists from one country to the next. However, while historians have analyzed the Black loyalist movement in the Americas, they rarely examine the documents that connect individual loyalists from North America to Sierra Leone and the African continent as a whole. In this poster presentation, I will share my experience curating a digital exhibit that provides insight into the lives of the Black loyalists by using primary documents that pose risks of being lost or destroyed. Then, I will analyze how curating an exhibit centered on rare documents allows historians to protect marginalized stories and study the diasporic migration patterns of Black loyalists from the United States to Nova Scotia, and then to Sierra Leone.
