Black communities in America have a long history of constructing sanctuaries amid oppression, from the secret hush harbors of slavery to the digital refuges created in response to the resurgence of white supremacist violence in the Trump era. These havens have offered places to grieve and to gather, to imagine freedom when the world denied it, and to practice care and resistance in the face of constant danger. They remind us that even in the darkest moments, Black people have made space to grieve, rest, heal, strategize, and imagine new futures.
In Hush to Harbor traces this enduring sanctuary-making through both historical memory and contemporary expression from the legacy of Freedmen’s Towns and Green Books for Motorists in the Jim Crow era as testaments to Black mobility and mutual protection to present-day digital activism and grassroots organizing that reimagine safety in the public sphere.
Blending literary criticism, cultural history, and ethnography, Scott demonstrates that sanctuary is not merely a place of retreat but a political and spiritual practice that calls forth a collective act of making space when none is offered. In Hush to Harbor offers not just a chronicle of survival but a blueprint for sustaining Black refuge in a time of urgent need, redefining what it means to be safe in a nation that has never guaranteed safety for Black life.
"Shifting the racial gaze from toxic claims of white innocence to the longstanding vulnerability of Black populations to white state-sanctioned violence, La-Toya L. Scott reminds us that creating safe spaces for Black people to congregate is—and has always been—a revolutionary enterprise."
“An expansive interrogation of the concept of safety for Black folks living in America, stretching from narratives of enslaved women to digitally mediated environments. In this book, Scott points us toward possibilities created from crisis, born of resistance, and situated in Black feminist practices of community and care.”
“A rigorous analysis of Black resistance during racialized crises. Scott skillfully examines Black sanctuary construction, illuminating how Black communities claim space amidst white supremacy. This book makes a unique contribution to our understanding of antiracist politics and resistance.”
Introduction: Except for Us 1 Lovecraft Country Spatial Geographies 2 Black Women, Labor, and Space 3 Paradise Is Who You Keep Out 4 A Womanist Place: When Crisis Calls Us to Center 5 Digital Hush Harbors: Rhetoric to Action and the Florida Dream Defenders Conclusion: When They See Us Acknowledgments Notes Index
LA-TOYA L. SCOTT is Assistant Professor of African American Literature and Culture at Sam Houston State University and founder of the public educational and cultural platform @InHouseScholar.
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