Author: Merideth M. Taylor
Publisher/Date: New Village Press / June 4, 2024
Format: Book
Description: 208 pgs. 96 duotone photographs
ISBN: 978-1-61332-240-6, Also available in eBook
Access: Distributor: NYU Press; also available for purchase from Historic Sotterley, Amazon and local vendors, the St. Mary’s County Library system
Keywords: slavery, African American, Black, history, Southern Maryland, St. Mary’s County, plantation life, Jesuits, Civil War, tobacco, enslaved, culture, freedom seekers, labor, tenant farmer. Reconstruction, local author,
Time Period:
- 1607 – 1763 Colonization
- 1763 – 1783 Revolutionary Period
- 1783 – 1800 Founding a New Nation
- 1800 – 1828 The Early Nationalist Period
- 1828 – 1860 Antebellum America
- 1860 – 1877 Civil War and Reconstruction
Themes:
- Rural Life in Southern Maryland
- African American People and Culture
- Indigenous People and Culture
- Diversity in Southern Maryland
- People, Places and Our Southern Maryland Environment
- Women’s History
Summary:
Making a Way Out of No Way: Lives of Labor, Love, and Resistance For over 165 years, plantation owners in Southern Maryland depended on the labor of enslaved men, women, and children to bring in the tobacco crop. The photographs and stories in this book grew out of the author’s quest to understand how these people, who were subjected to a system that made every attempt to brutalize and dehumanize them, were able not only to survive but to build families and meaningful lives.
Reviews:
“In the refreshing journey of Making a Way Out of No Way, Taylor appropriately hints at context but does not wallow in the details of the most comprehensive story of man’s inhumanity to man. Like [Toni] Morrison, she sees the joy and triumph of survival in the midst of pain. She offers slices of life combined with visual images that provide metaphors for the reality of life, and offers an answer to how the enslaved survived a brutal system that attempted to dominate and dehumanize them.”
From the Foreword by Rex M. Ellis, Associate Director Emeritus for Curatorial Affairs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
“There’s something about knowing your history and its ability to sometimes ‘rock your world’ to its core. Especially when you realize there’s so much more to your story. It’s helping to introduce me to my history in a personal way.”
Darlene Yorkshire, Daughter of James Timothy “Tim” Yorkshire, descendant of slaves associated with Sotterley and the Georgetown Memory Project.
“Often when I’m looking through family records, bits and pieces of information make me wonder what everyday life was like for my ancestors. The vignettes in this book are a glimpse into that past. After each entry I felt compelled to continue reading. I wanted to learn more about these people. I wanted to hear their thoughts and feel their emotions. I think anyone who picks up this book will find it difficult to stop reading until the end. No need for a bookmark.”
Theresa Thompson Turner, whose ancestors were enslaved in Southern Maryland
