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Free black woman's voice is still clear, 150 years after Civil War era

The worn, leather-bound diaries, each about the size of a smartphone, reveal a voice rarely found in print. In them, Emilie Davis, a young housekeeper and seamstress, chronicles her life as a free black woman in Philadelphia during the Civil War.

Villanova professor Judy Giesberg has recently-released book about Emilie Davis, a free black woman who lived in Philadelphia during the Civil War. In a photo from the book, Menika Dirkson, a graduate student in the Department of History at Villanova holds one of the diaries at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Photo Credit: EDWARD FIERROS
Villanova professor Judy Giesberg has recently-released book about Emilie Davis, a free black woman who lived in Philadelphia during the Civil War. In a photo from the book, Menika Dirkson, a graduate student in the Department of History at Villanova holds one of the diaries at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Photo Credit: EDWARD FIERROSRead more