Talk:Lucy Higgs Nichols

John Nichols
I am wondering if anyone has any information on Lucy Nichols 2nd husband John Nichols.? My family name is Nichols and I would Like more information on the last name Nichols (black family) please and thank you. 2601:644:201:ADB0:C5D6:E63F:7638:FE1C (talk) 18:12, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Dehumanizing/Demeaning language
Thank you to those who have put in the time to tell us about this amazing ancestor, Ms. Higgs Nichols.

It would also be good to adjust the language to reflect our 21st century ethics - that this lady was a highly accomplished person of tremendous courage, resourcefulness and internal strength -- who lived in a society in which she was vulnerable to and a survivor of non-stop civil, economic, and human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

One convention used in this article is remarkable for how it contrasts with other articles regarding other notable personages.

For instance, in the Wikipedia article for Andrew Jackson,  "executioner, slaver, ethnic cleanser ...  economic illiterate", and "tyrant" (Dylan Matthew's, Vox, 2016), nowhere is Jackson referred to as "Andrew". Yet in Ms. Higgs Nichols' article she is referred to throughout as "Lucy", only appropriate for children and others who are not considered adults or otherwise full citizens.

Several passages in this article are striking in that they use language that was common in the early 1800s -- today 200 years later -- to describe the life of Ms. Higgs Nichols. This language communicates a sense that Ms. Higgs Nichols is not a full citizen and 'subject' of her life (and of this article ) -- but as if she was indeed an inanimate object, item of 'property'.

These passages could be reworded to 'emancipate' her from language which denies her her humanity and agency - see below:

"Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion of slaves and land"

could be reworded

"Rueben Higgs' heirs were allotted a portion including land and enslaved persons"

"after which she was sent south with other slave property to Mississippi and allotted to"

could be reworded

"after which she was sent south with other enslaved persons to Mississippi and given into bondage to Wineford Amanda Higgs, ..."

It is sad that a person this resourceful, with this much initiative, in later life never had the opportunity to shine in any work outside the drudgery of housework. But it is heartening that she was able to get that pension.

Again, with respect, my gratitude to you all for this article. 50.249.58.198 (talk) 21:20, 8 March 2023 (UTC)


 * I think that "Lucy" could be replaced with a surname at some places, although often the first name is used to distinguish people with the same last name, such as Higgs Nichols from her daughter Mona. There's also the matter of, say, "Higgs Nichols", being more verbose than "Lucy", if that is to be the surname. The verbosity of "enslaved person", as opposed to "slave", doesn't really lend dignity to that condition, IMO, even though it is a modern attempt to do so; it's just more verbose and imposes the drudgery of extra typing on editors. "Drudgery of housework", I think, demeans what she was capable of. Her picture, as well as the description of her range of abilities, doesn't indicate someone who was some put-upon washerwoman. Dhtwiki (talk) 08:56, 9 March 2023 (UTC)