"Ask a Slave" debuted in September of 2013, with one new episode appearing each week for six weeks. A few months later, a second season began. Both seasons were funded through crowd-sourcing.
The brain child of actress and author, Azie Mira Dungey, the series began as a way of understanding and processing her experiences portraying historical characters--both enslaved and free--and interacting with the public, at museums in the Washington DC area. "Ask a Slave" was quickly appreciated and promoted in a variety of blogs and websites.
The show is formatted a bit like a talk show, with Ms. Dungey playing the part of Lizzie Mae, a slave at Mount Vernon, who has been asked to field questions from visitors by George Washington, while he was away from home in Philadelphia, serving as president. The questions asked in the show were asked by actual visitors. "Lizzie Mae" is free to answer them with more humor than was possible with real tourists. In addition to questions, the series also features other characters with whom Lizzie Mae interacts, including (among others): an abolitionist (George Washington's secretary Tobias Lear); the Iroquois chief Red Jacket; Lizzie Mae's children; and a runaway named Emma (based on Martha Washington's maid, Oney Judge). Throughout the series, humor was used to teach difficult truths about slavery and racism.
Critics of the series expressed concerns about using humor in any discussion of the enslaved experience. The reactions of others can be inferred from the fact that Ms. Dungey was asked to speak to college classes on both coasts about the series and her experiences, as well as being interviewed about the show on National Public Radio. Altogether well worth watching.
