Sharon Morgan – författare

This is the first detailed examination of land alienation and land use by white settlers in an Australian colony. It treats the first decades of settlement in Van Diemen's Land, encompassing the effects of the European invasion on Aboriginal society, the early history of environmental degradation, the island's society history and the growth of primary industry. The book presents vivid insights into nineteenth-century society, where wool was so useless that it was burnt, and farmers lived in fear of bushrangers and Aborigines. We see how individuals were constrained by the rigid expectations of race, class and gender in a society where no white man ever stood trial for rape or murder of a black. Drawing on contemporary diaries and letters, as well as government statistics, manuals for intending settlers and newspaper reports, Sharon Morgan has built up a comprehensive picture of the significance of landscape and land use in early colonial society.

Two people—a black woman and a white man—confront the legacy of slavery and racism head-on  “We embarked on this journey because we believe America must overcome the racial barriers that divide us, the barriers that drive us to strike out at one another out of ignorance and fear. To do nothing is unacceptable.” Sharon Leslie Morgan, a black woman from Chicago’s South Side avoids white people; they scare her. Despite her trepidation, Morgan, a descendent of slaves on both sides of her family, began a journey toward racial reconciliation with Thomas Norman DeWolf, a white man from rural Oregon who descends from the largest slave-trading dynasty in US history. Over a three-year period, the pair traveled thousands of miles, both overseas and through twenty-seven states, visiting ancestral towns, courthouses, cemeteries, plantations, antebellum mansions, and historic sites. They spent time with one another’s families and friends and engaged in deep conversations about how the lingering trauma of slavery shaped their lives.Gather at the Table is the chronicle of DeWolf and Morgan’s journey. Arduous and at times uncomfortable, it lays bare the unhealed wounds of slavery. As DeWolf and Morgan demonstrate, before we can overcome racism we must first acknowledge and understand the damage inherited from the past—which invariably involves confronting painful truths. The result is a revelatory testament to the possibilities that open up when people commit to truth, justice, and reconciliation. DeWolf and Morgan offer readers an inspiring vision and a powerful model for healing individuals and communities.

Mae'r gyfrol, hon sydd yn ddilyniant i gyfrol arloesol Theatr Y Gymraes yn trafod gwaith Sera Moore Williams, yn ymdrech i lenwi'r bylchau a chyfoethogi'r hanes trwy ddogfennu tair drama ysgrifenwyd a perfformiwyd gan Sharon Morgan i Rhosys Cochion.