New Books in History Antwain K. Hunter, "A Precarious Balance: Firearms, Race, and Community in North Carolina, 1715-1865" (UNC Press, 2025)
Mar 16, 2026
Antwain K. Hunter, historian of slavery and freedom in the Carolinas and author of A Precarious Balance, explores how free and enslaved Black North Carolinians accessed and used firearms from 1715–1865. He traces everyday armed life—from hunting and labor to defense and resistance. He also examines laws, petitions, imagery, and how wartime pressures reshaped armed labor and rights.
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Rethinking Black Firearm Use In History
- Antwain K. Hunter reframed Black firearm use beyond rebellion to include hunting, property defense, and labor for enslavers.
- He discovered the project origin in an 1831 Delaware petition disarming Black people, which reshaped his dissertation into this book.
Guns As Tools Of Labor And Community
- Hunter centers firearms as integral to enslaved labor and community life, not only instruments of rebellion or military use.
- Guns enabled hunting, crop protection, and productive farm work even when access was legally restricted.
Osmond And The Crow Shooter Images
- Hunter tracked down period illustrations showing everyday armed Black life, like Osmond in the Great Dismal Swamp and a man shooting crows to protect crops.
- He used these images to emphasize routine labor, family, and community uses of guns rather than rebellion.
