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Daina Ramey Berry

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Books by Daina Ramey Berry

A Black Women's History of the United States

A vibrant and empowering history that emphasizes the perspectives and stories of African American women to show how they are—and have always been—instrumental in shaping our country

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The Price for Their Pound of Flesh

The Price for Their Pound of Flesh is the first book to explore the economic value of enslaved people through every phase of their lives--including from before birth to after death--in the American domestic slave trades. Spanning their full "lifecycle" (including preconception, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, the senior years, and postmortem), historian Daina Berry shows the lengths to which slaveholders would go to maximize profits. Drawing from over 10 years of research, Berry explores how enslaved peoples' reacted to being appraised, bartered, and sold. By illuminating their lives Berry ensures that the individuals she studies are regarded as people, not merely commodities. Analyzing the depth of this monetization of human property will change the way we think about slavery, reparations, capitalism, and 19th century medical education.

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