History has no voice. It requires those who care enough about the past to put it into words. But to narrate the past, we must be conscious of it. This paper is an inquiry into how a small town in North Carolina found its unique history in the wake of a catastrophic hurricane. In 1885, Princeville, North Carolina became the oldest town in America charted by free Blacks. In spite of its historical significance, over time the town's storied past was silenced. By the latter half of the 20th century, the unique place of Princeville in African‐American history, indeed in United States history, was known to only a few elderly people; and they did not talk about it. The reasons a muted past begins to matter are themselves rooted in history. In 1999 Princeville was flooded by the deluge that was Hurricane Floyd. In the midst of mayhem this wordless past found a voice. In this paper we explore how a massive storm created space for the emergence of an historical consciousness among the town's residents. We also look at how the people of Princeville are leveraging their new found past to secure a safer, more predictable future.

中文翻译：

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灾难如何在北卡罗来纳州普林斯维尔发现了过去的弗洛伊德飓风和历史意识的兴起

历史没有声音。它要求那些对过去足够关注的人把它说出来。但是要叙述过去，我们必须意识到这一点。本文是对北卡罗来纳州一个小镇在一场灾难性飓风后如何找到其独特历史的质询。1885年，北卡罗来纳州普林斯维尔成为自由黑人统治下的美国最古老的城镇。尽管具有历史意义，但随着时间的流逝，该镇的传奇故事被沉默了。到20世纪下半叶，普林斯维尔在非裔美国人历史上，甚至在美国历史上的独特地位，只为少数老年人所知。他们没有谈论它。淡淡的过去开始变得重要的原因本身就植根于历史。1999年，普林斯维尔被弗洛伊德飓风淹没。在混乱中，这个无语的过去找到了声音。在本文中，我们探讨了一场大风暴如何为小镇居民中的历史意识的出现创造空间。我们还将研究普林斯维尔人民如何利用其新发现的过去来确保更安全，更可预测的未来。