Violence and Resistance in African American History

Violence has been a key element of African American history. From the time of the slave trade forward, the threat and reality of violence have been key mechanisms of control that whites have used to define boundaries of autonomy and aspiration for African Americans. Blacks have responded to such violence in myriad ways, changing the political and social landscape as they have done so. In addition to political violence, violent crime against and by blacks also has a rich and complicated history and politics as well. How have historians depicted and avoided the violence endemic to African American history and life from the slave trade forward?