‘Traces of the Trade’ screening set Sept. 18 at History Museum
Katrina Browne
How would you feel if you learned that your family had come to prominence, that its members had been blessed with wealth, opportunity and privilege — and that it happened because your family was the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history?
It was a question that faced Katrina Browne, a northeastern woman and first-time filmmaker who learned of her family’s history while she was in seminary. Her grandmother shared a family history that made passing reference to ancestors in the DeWolf family.
That history became Browne’s Emmy-nominated documentary, “Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North.” According to the film’s website, “From 1769 to 1820, DeWolf fathers, sons and grandsons trafficked in human beings.”
Browne’s documentary will be screened at 2 and 7 p.m. on Sept. 18 at the Missouri History Museum. The screenings are open to the public, free of charge. They’re sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri’s Commission on Dismantling Racism. Here’s a preview of the film.
“Most of the wealth and power (in this family) trickled down from the fact that they were the largest slave trading family in the country,” said Mike McDowell, Olivette city manager, a member of the commission and a member of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Creve Coeur. “Some parts of the film are wrenching.”
On top of it all, McDowell said, “All of the people from the family are Episcopalians, so in many ways, this is our story.”
Here’s an excerpt from the film’s synopsis on its website:
The film follows ten DeWolf descendants (ages 32-71, ranging from sisters to seventh cousins) as they retrace the steps of the Triangle Trade, visiting the DeWolf hometown of Bristol, Rhode Island, slave forts on the coast of Ghana, and the ruins of a family plantation in Cuba. Browne pushes the family forward as they struggle through the minefield of race politics. Back home, the family confronts the thorny topic of what to do now. In the context of growing calls for reparations for slavery, family members struggle with the question of how to think about and contribute to “repair.” Meanwhile, Browne and her family come closer to the core: their love/hate relationship with their own Yankee culture and privileges; the healing and transformation needed not only “out there,” but inside themselves.
Browne will be on hand to discuss the film at the screenings. McDowell said she’ll also be on hand the next day, Sept. 18, for a screening of “Repairing the Breach: The Episcopal Church and Slavery Atonement” at Holy Communion Episcopal Church in University City.
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Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
I remember hearing Katrina Browne speak about her being in the process of making this film about her family’s wealth coming from being one of the largest slave traders in the country. She really is a remarkable human being.
When The African Americans start to repair the urban cities, school district across America, reparations should be off the table. If the preacher wants to feel guilty that’s her prerogative. But don’t visit that onto my generation or my family. I’ve never own another individual nor has my family.
Paying the descendents for trials and tribulation they suffered is ridicules.
If so, I want reparations from King George.
If Browne wishes to wallow in her liberal guilt, so be it. Few white Americans had any connection with this institution, although to listen to the Blacks you would think they are still in the bonds of slavery. The billions poured into social programs to remedy their plight have more than offset any inconvenience their farmer forefathers might have endured. Its time to look at slavery for what it was; the myths of mistreatment should be balanced with the benevolent treatment these Africans received at the hands of their benefactors. I understand that this is not a popular opinion, because for decades the truth of slavery has been obscured by Uncle Toms Cabin and the need to blame the white man for the problems of the race. Peruse the literature of the time, and you will see the vast majority of slaves were treated very well, as any sensible farmer would treat his agricultural assets. It has been 146 years since Lincoln emancipated the slaves in the South (conveniently, not in the North). Most whites immigrated after slavery ceased to exist. We have no guilt,we have no reason to share Brownes’ guilt. We do have contempt for those who still use slavery as a generic excuse for the failure of blacks to assimilate into the culture as EVERY other race/ethnic group has.
An excellent point has been made. These Africans were far better off on the plantations of the old South than they were as leopard bait in the jungle. This is obvious from the reletively few who “ran away” and preferred the comfort and security of their owners farm. Had the slave population been as mistreated as the lies would lead you to believe, why didn’t the South crumble immediately when the War of Northern Invasion began. Obviously the black workers were very content with their lot, otherwise they could have revolted against unfair treatment when the opportunity arose. The fact that they did not, and most stayed to continue with their labors, or even fought on the side of the Southern Confederacy, demonstrates that they considered themselves fortunate. It is time for these myths associated with slavery to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
It seems that Kurt is not allowing any opinions on this “opinion” site. If you have any urge to comment on the issue of slavery, unless you embrace the plight of the poor Negro slaves, you will be censored for having a contrary opinion. I thought it only fair to inform you that you are not allowed to have an opinion with which Kurt disagrees.
It is always difficult to examine history through the microscope of todays values. What was perfectly acceptable and morally just at one point in time would be viewed quite differently today. Throughout history nearly every ethnic group at one time or another were held as slaves. And all, except for the Blacks it seems, were able to overcome this. The Irish, it seems to me, had much more difficult cirtcumstances. In the mid-1800’s they were literally starved to death by the Brits, food was withheld and transported back to England to feed the Brits and let the Irish starve. This is what prompted the Irish to board the “coffin ships” to America. The coffin ships of the Irish were every bit as pernicious as the slave ships of the blacks. And why is it that the Irish are not making demands for “reparations”? They surely had as much reason as the blacks to seek redress of their grievances.
I think a disclaimer should be posted to alert readers that this is NOT an opinion blog. Only opinions that agree with the moderator are published. If you wish to present a more balanced, and historically accurate view of this topic, your opinion will be deleted. This will save many keystrokes from being wasted by informed, historically conversant, individuals. This panders only to one viewpoint on the topic, and excludes participation by those who wish to present a historically accurate portrayal of the institution of slavery.
I am sure this was a painful, emotional trip for the family. Sounds like they may have gone a little over board with a potentially unsafe trip to Cuba.
These people have nothing to be ashamed of. This was many generations removed from them, and it was not necessarily the most angelic times in history. Everyone of us, black or white, has family history of some sort that we may be ashamed of. That does not mean that we need to be ashamed. Learn from the past and look forward.
I thought that lady commenter made two very good points before the moderator censored her too. The Irish had a worse time of it-1847-the Briticsh intentionally starved the Irish and many tried to immigrate to the US, no one starved the blacks to death. And the coffin ships of the Irish were as bad as the slave ships. The other point she made was if the treatment of the slaves was so bad, the economy of th South would have collapsed when most male Southerners left to fight the invasion from the North. The fact that there was no slave revolt, and blacks even fought for the Confederacy to repel the invasion by the Yankees, points out that the majority of slaves were quite content and didn’t use the war as an excuse to flee the plantations en masse. Too bad her opinion was not popular with the censor.
I am confused by her guilt trip. Why does she feel guilty about something her realtives did 150 years ago? Do any other readers feel any obligation one way or the other about something their great great great grandparents did? This situation needs to be viewed in the context of the mid-1800’s. Times were different, we view things diffently now. Maybe 150 years from now people will decry the horror of the holocaust of the killing unborn, and some decendent of an abortionist will post a similar piece agonizing over these murders. Abortionist or abolitionist? Different times, different viewpoints.