68. The Long Death of Slavery

In this episode of Empire, hosts Anita Anand and William D'Urban interview Kris Manjapra, a professor of history at Tufts University and author of "Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation." The discussion centers on challenging conventional understandings of slavery and emancipation, particularly focusing on the economic motivations behind abolition, the concept of "ghost lines" in history, and the long-lasting impacts of slavery through debt legacies and social inequalities. Manjapra details how emancipation laws often benefited slave owners, the unique characteristics of Atlantic slavery, and the various forms of emancipation that occurred over a century. The conversation also explores the complexities of reparations, addressing the question of who should pay and what form reparations should take, emphasizing the need to address social disrepair and heal the relationship with the past to transform the future.