Rambles of a Runaway from Southern Slavery

Rambles of a Runaway from Southern Slavery AUTHOR: HENRY GOINGS UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PRESS, 2012 PRICE: $30.00 ISBN: 978-0-8139-3238-5 Rambles of a Runaway from Southern Slavery is a memoir from the pen of Henry Goings who was born into slavery in James City County, in the early nineteenth century. In this engaging narrative Goings begins with a recounting of his experiences as an enslaved groom and personal assistant; his escape to freedom in the North; his near catastrophic attempt to rescue his first wife from slavery; and his eventual settlement in Ontario, Canada. Goings ends his narrative with expressions of his views on, among other things, slavery, the Civil War, and the post-slavery prospects of African Americans. Henry Goings' memoir, originally published in 1869, is greatly enhanced by the editors of this edition who, in the preface and introduction, provide important background on the history of the document and the context in which Goings lived and wrote. In addition, they supplement Going's original publication with a chronology of his life; maps of his travels; previously published interviews with him and his second wife; a letter that he wrote to the editor of a Canadian publication decrying racist sentiments in that country; and a land sale notice listing him as the sales agent, the combination of which contributes to a richer understanding of the space that Henry Goings and other African Americans, both enslaved and free, occupied in nineteenth century North America. As is the case with all slave narratives, Henry Goings' memoir is valuable as a window to the past: the recounting of his trials and triumphs leaving the reader with a sense of having shared that world with him in all its frightening complexity. However, Goings' memoir is even more precious owing to its thoughtful treatment of the world in which slavery existed and from which it would soon part. Highlights of that treatment include the following. First, there is his piercing portrayal of what it means to be a slave. Goings' lays bare the inherent inhumanity of slavery by going beyond the physical brutality to which salves were subject and expressing the sheer misery of human existence when you know that, no matter how well you are treated physically, you will not be afforded any measure of justice, any significant control over your life, or even the most basic education. A misery that he captured through such wistful statements as He was then living (if any slave may be said to live) in New-Kent County, Virginia (55) and Surely the Divine Author of the universe would not have given any of the human family the feelings and faculties of men, unless he also intended them to assume the responsibilities, and appreciate the pleasures of domestic life (58). These statements, and others like them throughout the narrative, express the abject forlornness of slavery in a way that is sure to give pause to even the most unrepentant apologists for slavery. Second, there is his sophisticated understanding of the depravity of slavery. Goings' memoir subverts a simplistic understanding of the many trespasses he observed during his rambles by depicting a perplexing distribution of good and evil in Antebellum America. To begin with, his recollections of encounters with White folks frequently convey the fondness and concern that such folks were capable of exhibiting towards the slaves in their midst; be it in the form of friendly banter, financial gifts, religious communion, or just common decency. In addition, his recollections of encounters with Native Americans and free African Americans convey the troubling lack of concern that these groups were capable of exhibiting toward slaves. Collectively these purposefully chosen recollections, while they don't attempt to absolve anyone of their guilt, belie the notion that the depravity of slavery merely reflected the moral bankruptcy of slave owners and their minions. …

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