A young boy born into slavery meets a newly purchased slave from Africa who refuses to let go of his culture, despite the master's attempts to christianize him.

Through conversations with his great-great aunt, a man learns the history of a formerly enslaved family matriarch. His brother’s recent arrest gains new meaning as he learns more about his ancestors.

Louise, a humble "honey-colored" slave, gains a new master whose wife loves to paint. The master leaves town, and Louise must endure an uncomfortable few weeks posing naked for his wife.

After the deaths of his parents, an enslaved man seeks the guidance of his elderly neighbor. She reveals his family history, and he discovers his undeniable yearning for freedom.

An imaginary Black servant on a turn-of-the-century plantation ends up permanently changing the owner's fortunes — despite being a figment of his imagination.

When a worker at a grocery store witnesses a man's arm get severed while attempting to grab a watermelon, it reminds him of an old story during slavery where a watermelon was the symbol of a blessing.

Years after the success of slave revolts in Louisiana and Haiti, a teenage girl learns the secret of a monster hidden in her mother's bedroom.

A free black man in the late eighteenth century knows that his enslaved companions envy his liberty — but he soon learns just how much they're willing to sacrifice for their own freedom.

A lineage of women born of the First Mother who escaped slavery survive in a swamp for several generations until some of the women begin to consider life outside the swamp.

A Black, southern house servant with internalized racism, joins her mistress on a visit to another region, where she observes Black people acting with something she abhors: autonomy.