enslavement

14 Stories

Burial Site for People Owned by a President Discovered

Andrew Jackson Foundation hadn't been sure where the 19-century cemetery was

(Newser) - At least 26 enslaved people died on the Tennessee plantation of President Andrew Jackson between 1804 and the end of the Civil War in 1865. Where they were laid to rest is knowledge that had been lost to time. But on Wednesday, officials of the Andrew Jackson Foundation announced a...

Story Behind Painting Reveals Historic First

James Alexander Simpson work was likely commissioned by formerly enslaved woman

(Newser) - Experts have unraveled the background of a portrait currently on display at the Baltimore Museum of Art—and they say it is likely the first work commissioned by a formerly enslaved American. James Johnston writes in the Washington Post that the painting is of Mary Ann Tritt Cassell, a woman...

Suit: Tech CEO Led Me Into 'Dark Abyss of Sexual Horror'

Christian Lanng, ex-chief of Tradeshift, has denied the rape, torture, harassment allegations

(Newser) - The former executive assistant for a fired tech CEO has now filed a lawsuit against him alleging he made her sign a "slave contract," then harassed, tortured, and sexually assaulted her. Per the Mercury News , the complaint against Christian Lanng, who was fired from business software company Tradeshift...

This Pompeii Home Stands Out From the Rest

House of the Vettii fully reopens to public after 20 years of restoration work

(Newser) - Two men freed from enslavement came to live a life of luxury in ancient Pompeii. Now their ornate home, dubbed "Pompeii's Sistine Chapel," has fully opened to the public for the first time in 20 years. The House of the Vettii—built in the second century BC,...

Harvard Should Have No Native American Remains. It Has 7K

Leaked report says it has only repatriated 3K of the 10K it had over the last 32 years

(Newser) - Harvard University holds human remains belonging to 7,000 Native Americans though a 1990 federal law bars that very thing, according to a draft report from a school committee commissioned to look into the issue last year. The unfinalized report from the Steering Committee on Human Remains in Harvard Museum...

Slave Owner's Descendant Pays Reparations

Louisville nonprofit receives 6-figure check

(Newser) - A Louisville nonprofit that helps marginalized people has received a six-figure reparations check from the descendant of a slave-holder. "It is a blessing for us but also definitely owed," says Taylor Ryan, executive director of Change Today, Change Tomorrow. The donation was so unexpected that the organization first...

Jesuits Promise $100M for Slavery Reparations

Trust will benefit descendants of enslaved people, including those sold by Jesuits in 1838

(Newser) - The Catholic order of Jesuit priests has pledged to raise $100 million for descendants of the enslaved people it owned in what the New York Times reports is "one of the largest efforts by an institution to atone for slavery." The order relied on slave labor and sales...

Descendant of Slaves Loses Photo Fight With Harvard

Mass. judge rules university is rightful owner of photos of slaves taken for racist project

(Newser) - Photos of an enslaved father and daughter taken for a racist project at Harvard belong to the school, not the slaves' direct descendant, a Massachusetts judge has ruled. Tamara Lanier, who grew up hearing about great-great-great grandfather Renty, only learned about the 1850 daguerreotypes of himself and daughter Delia in...

Google Gives $11.5M to Fight Slavery

Move is a 'game-changing investment,' anti-trafficking group says

(Newser) - Google has made what is believed to be the biggest-ever corporate contribution to the fight against modern-day slavery. As part of $40 million in donations the search-engine king is making over the holiday season, Google coughed up $11.5 million to organizations working to end human trafficking, CNN reports. Up...

Israel Charges Harem Leader With Rape, Enslavement

Goel Ratzon allegedly had 21 women, 49 children in cultlike atmosphere

(Newser) - A 60-year-old Israeli man who kept a harem of at least 21 women who bore him 49 children has been charged with enslavement, rape, incest, and other sexual offenses. Goel Ratzon was arrested last month but wasn't charged formally until today. Ratzon, who remains behind bars, denies wrongdoing. The 25-page...

Israeli With Huge Harem Accused of Rape, Incest

Reports say he has 32 wives, 89 children

(Newser) - Israeli police have arrested polygamist cult leader Goel Ratzon on suspicion of enslavement, rape, and incest. They’ve also detained 17 of his “wives” and 37 of his children for questioning; police say some of the children are also his grandchildren. According to some reports, Ratzon has a total...

Fritzl Gets Life Sentence
 Fritzl Gets 
 Life Sentence 
Mar 19, 2009 9:06 AM CDT

Fritzl Gets Life Sentence

Incest dad found guilty on all charges

(Newser) - Austrian incest dad Josef Fritzl has been found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life in a secure psychiatric facility, the BBC reports. Jurors found Fritzl guilty on charges that included rape, incest, murder, and enslavement after he locked his daughter in a cellar for 24 years, raped her...

Brazil Rescues 4,600 Slaves in 2008

(Newser) - Brazil freed more than 4,600 slaves this year after storming a record number of remote farms, the Guardian reports. Often teaming up with federal police, the government's anti-slavery task force raided 255 farms, but advocates say thousands of poor are still being trapped into debt slavery. "It is...

Couple Guilty of Keeping Slaves
Couple Guilty of Keeping Slaves
Dec 17, 2007 10:31 PM CST

Couple Guilty of Keeping Slaves

Chaos in court as verdict is read

(Newser) - Pandemonium reigned in a Long Island federal court today as verdicts in a sensational slavery case were being read. The jury found a wealthy Indian couple, Varsha Sabhnani, 46, and her husband Mahender, 51, guilty on 12 counts, including forced labor, debt servitude and harboring illegal immigrants for mistreating two...

14 Stories