In loving memory of Dr. Gwendolyn Midlo Hall (1929 - 2022), who has dedicated her decades-long career in studying the history of slavery in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Louisiana (U.S.).
Dr. Hall's contributions are recognized through the creation of database of more than 100,000 enslaved Africans brought to Louisiana in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Louisiana Slave Database, which has become a primary resource for historical and genealogical research. The Hall Memorial of the Whitney Plantation is named after her honor and is dedicated to the slaves who lived in Louisiana during that time. All the names recorded in Gwendolyn Midlo Hall’s Louisiana Slave Database, along with relevant pictures and quotations were engraved on 216 granite slabs, mounted on 18 walls in the Whitney Plantation.
The database has helped many African Americans find their ancestry, trace their cultural roots and reconnect families. These documents were meticulously transcribed, organized from documents found in parish courthouses, public libraries and archives, identified through marriage contracts, leases, mortgages, wills, death certificates etc… and written in three languages, Spanish, English and French. The breadth and depth of the recorded information is unparalleled, it contains details that was not previously available, including not only the basic information of the enslaved, but also occupation, illnesses, ethnic designations, legal transactions, testimonies, emancipations and the names of owners, buyers, sellers and freers, if the enslaved was involve in running away/ or conspiracies and revolts against slavery, skills, family relationships, child/woman ratios and age of mother at birth. The database and supporting documents have been published in several books (Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth Century, Slavery and African Ethnicities: Restoring the Links) and articles (Databases for the Study of Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy 1699-1860, In search of the Invisible Senegambians : the Louisiana Slave Database (1723-1820) and is paramount to many scholars and researchers in the field of history, linguistics and genealogy and has how these related disciplines were taught, adding scholarly insights and understanding of the diverse origins of cultures throughout the Americas.
Dr. Hall was a Professor Emerita of History at Rutgers University, having taught Caribbean and Latin American history, as well as classes on the African diaspora and and has won numerous awards for her research including the Distinguished Service Award, Organization of American Historians and Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. Her commitment and research will continue on in Regenerated Identities, led by the current new team Kathe Hambrick and Ibrahima Seck. The database will be expanded upon through 1865 using data entry methods created by Walk With Web Inc. Dr. Gwendolyn Hall will be missed by many, but her dedication and passion will continue on, she passed away peacefully and is survived by her three children.