The 'Washington Black' Trailer Reveals New Undertold History

Next time you hear someone complaining that period piece "force" diversity on their fans by "adding non-white characters to history," please remind them of the biggest historical truth there is: History is written by the winners, and up until recently, white European men were very used to winning by any means necessary. But when only the winners write, and therefore define, history, stories — both real and historically fictional — get lost. Such is the case with Washington Black, based on the novel of the same name by Canadian author Esi Edugyan, whose fictionalized story of the titular character was inspired by the real history of the Tichborne case.

The Tichborne case was one where the only son of a Baroness, Tichborne, was lost at sea, only for someone claiming to be him to step forward in Australia years later, after seeing a poster seeking the heir's whereabouts. The claimant was, of course, a fraud, but as part of the identification process, a former slave from Jamaica with a brilliant mathematical mind, who had worked closely with the real heir, was sent down under to identify the gentleman.

That formerly enslaved person was the inspiration for the character of George Washington Black, a scientifically gifted child whose intelligence captures the attention of the adults around him. He is sent first to England to study and then across the oceans to Australia, where he discovers a world where chattel slavery doesn't exist and opening his mind to the possibilities of a life where everyone is equal.