He set the director up with visiting-scholar credentials and created what Mr. Stauffer described as a rigorous syllabus. “I wish someone would also make a film about Denmark Vesey, a film about Tunis Campbell, a film about Robert Smalls, a film about Albion Tourgée,” he said, rattling off the names of undersung 19th-century African-American heroes and white allies. Where Mr. Ross has invented characters or episodes or made guesses about motivations, he explains why, pointing to justifications in the historical record. The extent of Knight’s collaborations across the color line has been a point of sometimes hot debate among scholars, including those on Mr. Ross’s team. “He diligently read the books and came back, so I was happy to consult with him.”Eventually Mr. Ross met John Stauffer, a Harvard professor who has written extensively about abolitionism.

Source: New York Times June 15, 2016 22:11 UTC