It might seem unusual to wonder if reparations can flow from a jar, but that is exactly what the living descendants of “Dave the Potter” are trying to find out. Dave, born sometime around 1800, was first enslaved by Edgefield, South Carolina businessman Henry Drake. The Drake family helped put Edgefield on the map as one of the nation’s best locations for stoneware pottery, but few people at the time appreciated that behind the family’s financial success was a ceramic savant named Dave.
The vast majority of enslaved laborers in the 19th century were kept illiterate and anonymous, but Dave overcame these limitations to create some of the most celebrated (and valuable) pottery in American history. His pottery is distinct not only for its substantial size, durability, and tearful glazes, but also because Dave signed his works and inscribed many with original poetry. These subtle, yet durable, acts of resistance speak to the humanity, excellence, and creativity that chattel slavery could never fully extinguish.
Dave the person died in poverty and obscurity, but the “Dave the Potter” persona has become an industry of sorts in the art world as his pieces can be found in the most prestigious museums and private collections. In 2021, one of his engraved jars sold for a record setting $1.5 million. From the selling of Dave’s pottery to local merchants during his enslavement, to the auctioning of his works to elite institutions and families decades after his death, it is impossible to calculate how much wealth has been generated from the theft of his artistic genius. What is easy to determine, however, is who has not financially benefited—generations upon generations of Dave’s kin.
But in a remarkable turn of events, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) recently repatriated two of Dave’s stoneware to living descendants, and then purchased one of the returned pots from the family to remain on public display. In doing so, the institution is demonstrating a new frontier in reparations.
When it comes to the successful return of stolen property, provenance is everything. Families must establish an irrefutable link to the land and objects in question, which is especially difficult for African American families due to prohibitive costs, inconsistent record keeping, and the fact that enslaved people and the products of their labor were the legal property of white slave holders.
To break through these obstacles, professional genealogist Kellie Farrish utilized a combination of archival research and DNA analysis to build a convincing case for direct ancestry that helped compel the museum into action. Farrish, CEO of Reparative Genealogy and lead genealogist for RepGen’s HORT Program, remarks on the significance of this achievement by stating, “This is the first time in American history art created by an enslaved person was returned to their descendants by tracing the lineage of the family’s members back to Dave. We were able to meet the genealogical proof standard which was very important.” As a part of the settlement with MFA, Farrish and representatives of the Drake family have launched descendantsofdave.org in the hopes of identifying more family members eligible for reparations.
The “Dave the Potter” case, much like the progress being made by RepGen, is another hopeful example of reparations in action that can, and should, be replicated across the country. In both instances, material wealth, whether in the form of artwork or housing, has been delivered to African Americans owed economic compensation. The MFA’s acceptance of accountability and reform shows that museums and collectors can no longer hoard stolen antiquities under the false presumption that repatriation to African Americans is impossible. Furthermore, white families and institutions awarded financial advantages derived from slavery, Jim Crow, red-lining, and mass incarceration cannot plead ignorance or innocence for ongoing racial wealth disparities.
The imperfect work of making Dave’s family whole after what has been taken away to enrich white society points to another important lesson in the fight for reparations. Farrish argues that reparations is ultimately about “handing it back,” which involves much more than simply writing a check or giving someone a pot.
“Handing it back” is about ensuring that African Americans can reclaim not only the wealth that was taken from them, but also the deeper inheritance of identity, purpose, and belonging—the true foundations of repair. When people reconnect with the courage and brilliance of their ancestors, they begin to understand themselves as vital participants in the larger story of this nation’s ongoing pursuit of liberty and justice for all.
This is why RepGen insists that lasting transformation is a dual process of repair involving both monetary redistribution and narrative reconstruction. Every HORT participant works closely with a trained genealogist to rebuild family trees dating back to slavery to restore their connection to and ownership of this nation, despite centuries of being told they were “less American.” This process is what we call restorative genealogy, and it is a fundamental part of reparations. For RepGen it also is a necessary step of establishing eligibility for the program which provides $25,000 reparative payment during the purchase of a home.
Imagine a Black man with large hands and broad shoulders. He stands on a wooden block before a white crowd on a humid summer day. The man is bent, but not broken, as he calmly awaits the sound of a dull thud. SOLD!
Imagine a large stoneware pot. The pristine brown vessel sits on a short velvet pedestal before a white audience in an airconditioned ballroom. On the glistening surface is a message from its maker, a poem that asks: “I wonder where is all my relations/Friendship to all—and every nation.” SOLD!
Dave’s pots have never been inert objects. Each masterpiece is an extension of the man, a piece of his soul that can be purchased, but never fully owned. They carry Dave’s anger and frustration, but more importantly, also his hope. The pottery has exchanged hands many times over the years, and now, for the first time, two are in the hands of Dave’s family, and that is what reparations looks like.