Joseph C. Miller Memorial Lecture by Chouki el Hamel

This presentation explains how the archives created a wall of silence regarding issues of slavery and race. The archival silence created an intentional gap in the production of history. My previous book 'Black Morocco' was an attempt to place slavery and black Moroccans in the national narrative. It highlighted the black Moroccan heritage in the collective cultural memories. My current project focuses on the agency and resistance of black Moroccans and the insistence of their freedom. I focus on retrieving the archives for historical reparative justice. I intend to bring to light the forces that created maroonage and maintained social and legal identities in Morocco. I will thus examine the historical roots of this marginalized group that led to the present dilemma of racial identity and discrimination in Morocco.