Claiming Sunday

Claiming Sunday tells the story of a remarkable group of African Americans owned by the Devereux Family by developing two main themes: one, to tell the inspiring story of a group of enslaved human beings who survived the dehumanizing system of slavery which held them captive; and, two, to develop slavery as a key to comprehending modern racial relations in a more enlightened and knowledgeable manner. Interviews with descendants of the Devereux Slave Community tell their stories along with the richly detailed narrative, including slave medical care and involvement in the market economy, of the lives of their enslaved ancestors. Julien Devereux, and his father John, came to Texas in 1841 from Alabama. Julien first settled his enslaved in Montgomery Countyand then moved to Rusk County in 1846. When he died in 1856 he owned 10,500 acres and 75 human beings. Julien's widow Sarah Landrum Devereux ran the plantation until Emancipation in 1865. The Devereux Slave Community centered around two people, Tabby andScott. Together they raised eleven children and saw their family grow over the years. The Community endured and survived the move from Alabama to Texas, the move from Montgomery County to Rusk County. The breakup of Scott and Tabby's family in a lawsuit filed when John Devereux died threatened to tear the Community apart. Their strength, endurance and determination carried them through the separation and repaired the Community as a whole--