Sepia Features

“Boarding House” Lives

The Owens Boarding House was a real place. Here at Sepia Features it is also a metaphor; a place where African American lives in the 1800s, especially those that have received inadequate attention, can find a spotlight. Some of the ‘residents’ came to fame even in their day. Others acted in relative anonymity during their lifetimes and remained unrecognized when history’s scribes decided where to place emphasis. Now a growing body of work reveals the reality of those under appreciated change agents and it provides new insights into the activists who’ve long been recognized.