By Coral Gables Gazette staff

The University of Miami Libraries will host a lecture that uncovers the overlooked history of Black labor in the making of books in early America. On Tuesday, September 9, from 6 to 8 p.m., the Kislak Center welcomes John J. Garcia, director of Scholarly Programs and Partnerships at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Mass. His presentation, “Slavery and the Making of the Early American Book,” will shed new light on how enslaved and free communities shaped the foundations of American print culture.

Black labor in the world of books

Garcia’s lecture arrives at a pivotal moment. In just two years, 2027 will mark the bicentennial of Freedom’s Journal, the first African American periodical published in the United States. The anniversary has prompted renewed attention to the origins of Black participation in print and publishing. Garcia’s research reframes this history by focusing on the invisible labor that sustained libraries, printing offices, and paper mills across colonial North America, the British Caribbean, and the early United States.

Libraries, print shops and paper mills were sites where race, labor, and authority collided. They were workshops and institutions shaped by the hands and minds of enslaved and free Black workers. From the strenuous physical demands of paper-making to the skilled contributions in print shops, Black laborers helped build the infrastructure that made early American publishing possible. Garcia’s talk will examine how these contributions created not only books but also new forms of resistance, expertise, and community.

A scholar of the book

As director of Scholarly Programs and Partnerships at the American Antiquarian Society, Garcia plays a leading role in connecting new scholarship with one of the country’s most important historical collections. His own research investigates the material history of the book—the ways it was made, circulated, and consumed. By tracing these histories, he illuminates cultural practices often omitted from traditional narratives of publishing.

In this lecture, Garcia will argue that the story of early American print cannot be told without recognizing the contributions of people of African descent, both enslaved and free. Their labor shaped the physical production of books and periodicals, while their communities redefined how knowledge was preserved and shared.

Reimagining the early American book

The lecture focuses on three key sites of book production:

The Library – where the presence of Black labor is often erased but was essential in sustaining collections, from binding to physical upkeep.

The Printing Office – where apprenticeships and skilled work included contributions by free Black workers whose roles have seldom been recorded.

The Paper Mill – where the most physically demanding labor was performed, often by enslaved individuals whose efforts literally provided the medium on which knowledge was recorded.

By highlighting these spaces, Garcia reframes how we understand the making of the book in America. It is not only a story of authors, printers, and publishers but also of the workers who enabled their words to take form.

A local connection to global history

The Kislak Center’s decision to feature this program underscores the University of Miami Libraries’ role as a cultural hub in South Florida. The Kislak Collection itself is a renowned archive of rare books, maps, and manuscripts relating to the history of the Americas. This lecture situates Coral Gables within a larger conversation about race, labor, and knowledge production that stretches across centuries and continents.

For Miami audiences, the lecture provides both a window into global history and a mirror for the city’s own diverse communities. It asks what stories remain hidden in our institutions and what voices deserve greater recognition.

An invitation to dialogue

The evening will conclude with a Q&A, giving attendees the chance to engage directly with Garcia and reflect on the ways this scholarship intersects with contemporary debates about history, race, and cultural memory. For students, scholars, and community members alike, the program offers an opportunity to reconsider how books—and the labor behind them—shaped the world we inhabit today.