The fourth student work feature for Black Histories and Futures Month is a short documentary film titled "Prison of Slavery" that was created by Alysia Reid and Kaitlyn Berlettano in HIST 402: Thinking While Black: Black Intellectual History, taught by Dr. Daniel McNeil.
In the introduction, Reid and Berlettano explain:
This film was created to understand the system of slavery that has continued into the social justice system today. It also analyzes the way in which black Americans pushed back against a system of oppression through their music.
Reflecting on their work producing this film for HIST 402, Berlettano adds:
This course has been the highlight of my 4 years at Queen’s University. I believe this documentary was an empowering aspect of my education because it not only took discipline (with over 45 hours of editing) but also allowed me to explore multiple sources of information, perspectives, and outlets to uncover the truth behind the prison system … I was able to understand the historical and political components of the prison system, which not only reflects in the way that slavery was used but also how politics in the 1900s explicitly targeted black communities, funding a system of violence against them … this has been the most intriguing project I have ever tackled. I hope to take the knowledge and skills I have learned in the class to make more projects like this in the future.
Watch the full documentary here.
In honour of Black Histories and Futures Month, the Department of History is featuring undergraduate student research that addresses Black histories, Black cultures, and Black experiences. Throughout the month of February, we will post the projects deemed to be the strongest by our faculty. The selected papers were produced for courses in the Department of History.
We hope you enjoy engaging with our students’ work! Learn more about events on campus and in Kingston celebrating Black Histories and Futures Month here.
