Hannah Mary Tabbs, a Disembodied Torso, and Black Women’s Worlds of Violence

This presentation will explore a sensational murder and dismemberment that occurred in Philadelphia in 1887.  The case, which includes an adulterous love triangle among other salacious elements, allows for a layered examination of the black woman at the center of the crime.  Her role in the events that transpired allows us to explore the reasons why a life like hers matters for history and to consider what her experiences convey about black womanhood and violence in the late nineteenth century.