Enslavement and the Foundations of Human Resource Development: Covert Learning, Consciousness Raising, and Resisting antiBlack Organizational Goals

Extant historical writings focused on Human Resource Development have generally centered white perspectives and failed to substantively grapple with the experiences of racially minoritized people, leaving field without an adequate foundation from which address recent calls for racial inclusivity. This paper begins process addressing these concerns by analyzing autobiographical Fredrick Douglass, a formerly enslaved African American. We situate this examination in both broader historiography U.S. enslavement relevant HRD theory regarding race, diversity, Black workplace. The purpose is initiate discussion relevance institution slavery history HRD; we argue that studying formally people offers valuable lessons about resisting dehumanization contemporary workplaces.