Summary
This article introduces the guest-edited American Antiquity special issue “Global Archaeologies of the Long Emancipation.” It begins with Rinaldo Walcott’s notion of the Long Emancipation, arguing that the failed promises following slavery’s legal end produced both sensations of freedom and enduring forms of anti-Blackness.
The introduction then applies this framework to archaeology, suggesting that the discipline is well positioned to document Black creativity, action, and struggle across global contexts. It closes by situating the contributions in the special issue, including work connected to Liberia and the broader BAHA research program.