Tag: slavery

CELEBRATE BLACK POETRY

- Jill Leave a comment

In 1970, folk musician Stanley A. Ransom proposed that October 17th each year be set aside as a national day to celebrate black literature and culture. He selected this day in commemoration of the birthday of Jupiter Hammon in 1711. Hammon is popularly known as the father of African American literature and was the first published black poet in the United States. Black Poetry Day, established in his honor, is a day to recognize the contributions to literature of past and present black poets and writers and to celebrate the black experience, particularly as expressed through poetry.

Jupiter Hammon was born into slavery in New York and served four generations of the Henry Lloyd estate owners during his lifetime, including during the Revolutionary War. He was never emancipated. Despite his circumstances, which he actually considered to give him “more advantages and privileges” [1] than most other slaves and “more than many white people have enjoyed” [1], he become a well-respected preacher and bookkeeper-clerk.  His work about slavery received wide circulation. His first poem “An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries” was published in 1761. Hammon’s second published poem came about by his recognition of the need to support and encourage other black writers at a time when they did not receive the same kind of support as whites. “An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley”, was written by Hammon as an encouragement to Miss Wheatley in admiration of her work as the first published black female author. Hammon’s work drew heavily on Christian motifs and theology, serving as an encouragement to his fellow slaves to persevere.

Black poetry does not have to be about slavery, segregation, or the equal rights movement. However, it is often linked to the experiences of African Americans and their history in America which is tied inextricably to their race. Use these books as a jumping off point to explore, appreciate, and celebrate the contributions African-American poets have made (and continue to make) to the richness of American poetry.

The 100 best African American poems) edited by Nikki Giovanni
The Oxford anthology of African-American poetry edited by Arnold Rampersad
Poemhood, our black revival : history, folklore & the Black experience: a young adult poetry anthology edited by Amber McBride, Taylor Byas, and Erica Martin
Black liturgies : prayers, poems, and meditations for staying human by Cole Arthur Riley
This is the honey : an anthology of contemporary Black poets edited by Kwame Alexander

[1] BlackPast, B. (2012, March 15). (1787) Jupiter Hammon, “An Address to the Negroes in the State of New York”. BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1787-jupiter-hammon-address-negroes-state-new-york/

Online Reading Challenge – November Wrap-Up

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Hello Fellow Challenge Readers!

How did your reading go this month? Did you read something set in Africa that you enjoyed? Share in the comments!

“We believe the one who has power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too. From there you get a clearer, yet still imperfect, picture.”
― Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing

I read our main title: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. This is a multigenerational saga that spans countries and centuries. Two half-sisters are born in eighteenth-century Ghana in different villages. The kicker: they don’t know the other exists. One sister, Effia, marries an English slave trader, moves into Cape Coast Castle, and lives a life of comfort and somewhat peace. She raises half-caste children with her white husband. The other sister, Esi, is captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the dungeons of Cape Coast Castle, sold into slavery, and shipped off on a boat. She ends up in America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery.

This book follows Effia and Esi’s descendants through eight generations. It discusses slavery in the past all the way through to racism in the present. One thread loops through Ghana with Effia’s family. Another thread travels America with Esi’s family. Readers switch back and forth between each woman’s descendants to learn how past actions influence their futures.

Gyasi’s debut novel was absolutely breathtaking. I listened to the audiobook and wished that I would have had access to the family tree that was in the front of the print book. If you decide to give this book a listen, Knopf Double Day has a copy of the family tree online that you can use. As I was reading, I was amazed that this was the author’s debut novel! Homegoing was beautifully written and tore at my heart as it introduced characters with heartbreaking stories of loss, danger, and love. Gyasi does a wonderful job of telling the accounts of a family and how their bodies are affected by events/people/places out of their control, while also being sensitive to their souls.

In December, we’re headed to Cuba!

Requiem for the Enslaved by Carlos Simon Jr.

- Callen Leave a comment

“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the hope and dream of a slave.” – Maya Angelou

I’m always on the hunt for unique and diverse additions to our music CD collection, especially for less mainstream genres of music. Recently I had the privelege to order Requiem for the Enslaved for our classical music section. Here’s how the creators describe it:

American composer Carlos Simon presents a multi-genre work, Requiem for the Enslaved. This work is a musical tribute to commemorate the stories of 272 enslaved men, women and children sold in 1838 by Georgetown University. Described as a “rap opera,” Carlos infuses his original compositions with African American spirituals and familiar Catholic liturgical melodies. Requiem for the Enslaved explores the sacred and historical, and honors the lives of those bought and sold.

Carlos Simon says: “Since being hired as an Assistant Professor, I have grown to love the Georgetown University community and culture. In learning of the university’s involvement in slavery, I am deeply grateful for the collective efforts taken to understand and attempt to reconcile its tainted past. Now as a member of the Georgetown University community, I wish to join in the journey of expanding the discussion.”

For similar items like this, try Dreams of a new day : songs by black composers with Will Liverman OR Songs of our native daughters with Rhiannon Giddens.

Online Reading Challenge – May Wrap-Up

- Ann Leave a comment

Greetings Fellow Readers!

Here we are at the end of May already. How did your reading go this month? Did you find a Toni Morrison book or similar author to read this month?

I read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi which turned out to be an excellent choice. It tells the story  of half-sisters Effia and Esi, born in Africa. Unknown to each other,  their lives take very different paths. Effia is married off to a white man, the British officer in charge of the Cape Coast Castle, the trading post where slaves were housed until sent West. While her life is relatively comfortable, she torn between two worlds – not entirely African anymore and not welcome in English society.

Meanwhile, Esi is captured, sold into slavery and sent to America, her life becoming a nightmare of constant hardship. After she is captured, Esi is held in the dungeons of the Cape Coast Castle with dozens of other women. She raped, beaten, nearly starved and lives in filthy conditions until a ship is ready to sail. Life as an enslaved person in America is no better.

Both women struggle to raise their children with a love and understanding of their African roots, passing along the oral history of their family and their people. Each generation that comes after these women must also struggle with the terrible legacy of slavery – of the responsibility for it (on Effia’s side) and the suffering, emotional and physical, of living it (on Esi’s side).

This is a powerful story, told by a bold and courageous voice. While the writing does not have the ethereal quality of Morrison’s, it is magical in it’s own way. The stories jump forward through time, describing a pivotal moment in the life of a member of each family each generation, then moving on to the next generation, creating a face-paced but vivid picture of struggles and triumphs. The long-lasting affects of slavery and racism are especially eye-opening and heartbreaking. A powerful story of tragedy and resilience. Highly recommended.

Now it’s your turn. What did you read this month?

 

 

Online Reading Challenge – February Wrap-Up

- Ann 2 Comments

Greetings Readers!

What did you read for our Gone with the Wind themed reading month? Did you find something interesting?

February was a good month for me – I read The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. This was one of the books chosen by Oprah for her book club, so many of you may have read this already. I hadn’t and I’m glad I got the chance/encouragement to read it now.

Set in the early 1800s thru the 1830s, The Invention of Wings follows two main characters – Sarah Grimke, the daughter of a wealthy, Southern plantation owner and her slave Hetty “Handful” Grimke who was given to Sarah on her eleventh birthday. Sarah is horrified; she already has strong anti-slavery feelings and does not want to own a human being. Her parents force her to accept Handful and their stories are now set to be entwined for the rest of their lives.

At first the girls (Handful is the same age as Sarah) are almost friends. They share secrets and play together and Sarah teaches Handful how to read. However, the reality of their situation – slave and owner – forces distance between them. Both are trapped, Sarah by the dictates of her parents and the fact that she is female and her choices are restricted. Handful’s life is, of course, much harsher, filled with cruelty and unfairness. Both long to be free to pursue their own lives. Sarah eventually defies her parents and moves to Philadelphia and begins following the Quaker faith in part because of their anti-slavery stand. Handful remains behind, fighting to survive including a terrible punishment for a minor “crime” that will change her life. Sarah reaches out to her again and again but is limited in what she can do until Handful is finally ready to attempt to break free.

Sarah Grimke was a real person who became a vocal abolitionist and woman’s rights suffragist in the 1830s. She and her sister Nina (who also appears in the book) became famous – and notorious – for their unapologetic and outspoken views. Handful is not based on a real person, but her experiences are drawn from countless stories of slaves. This creates a very personal, very painful glimpse of slavery not only the physical pain but the emotional and mental toll – the loss of dignity, of autonomy, of control. A powerful and thoughtful book.

Now it’s your turn – what did you read for this month’s Challenge?

Online Reading Challenge – February

- Ann Leave a comment

Hello Challenge Readers! Welcome to February!

This month our film is a favorite of many – Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh. Set in the deep South before, during and after the Civil War, it is a triumph of storytelling and cinematic excellence (that famous burning of Atlanta scene is not easily forgotten). The dashing hero, the vain heroine, the elegance of plantation life (possible only with the enslavement of people), the horror of battle and the struggle to rebuild highlights one of the most important time periods of American history.

There are a lot of directions you can go when looking for a book related to this film. You can go straight to the heart and read Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind which stands as an excellent choice on it’s own. There are also a lot of books about the making of the film itself which was nearly as dramatic as the movie!

A lot of popular books have been written about the Civil War including classics like Little Women by Louisa Alcott and The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Anything about Abraham Lincoln – and there are lots of books about Lincoln – would be appropriate. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier is an award-winning novel about a soldier that goes AWOL and begins the long walk home while Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini looks at the controversial First Lady. For an in-depth description of battles turn to Shelby Foote (Shiloh) or Jeff Shaara’s Civil War series which includes The Killer Angels.

We cannot not overlook the terrible price paid by millions – the enslavement of African Americans. For a glimpse of slavery and its long lasting consequences try Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup or go for a classic such as There Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston or Roots by Alex Haley. Several recent titles such as Underground by Colson Whitehead and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi would be excellent choices as well as any title by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, especially Beloved.

Be sure to stop in at any of the Davenport Library locations and check out the Online Reading Challenge display where we’ll have these titles and lots more for you to choose from.

I’m going to be reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, a fictionalized account of abolitionist and member of the woman’s suffrage movement Sarah Grimke and her slave Hettie and their struggles during the Civil War era. It promises to be an excellent book.

What about you? What are you planning to read this month?

 

Online Reading Challenge – April Wrap-Up

- Ann 1 Comment

Hello Fellow Reading Fans!

How did your  “1800s” reading go in April? Exciting? Interesting? A non-starter?

I struggled a bit to find something to read this month. I think the “1800s”, while full of many excellent titles, was a bit to broad. There was almost too much choice. A more defined time period, while limiting choices, would make it easier to find a real gem. In fact, I had decided I would re-watch some favorite Jane Austen movies, but at the last minute I found a book that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. That book was The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier.

Honor Bright, a young Quaker woman living in England in 1850, is jilted by her intended and decides, at the last minute, to join her sister who is immigrating to America to marry. The month-long Atlantic crossing is very difficult for Honor and further tragedy strikes during the journey to Ohio. Honor finds herself homesick, alone and struggling to find her place in a strange land.

America is very different from the England Honor grew up in; where England is settled and solid, America is raw and constantly changing. Survival is a constant struggle and comforts are meager. While people are kind, they are not particularly welcoming, absorbed in their own problems and struggles. And political tensions run high, often pitting neighbor against neighbor as the question of slavery begins to reach its boiling point – Honor has landed in a tiny settlement near Oberlin, Ohio, known as a safe stop for runaway slaves following the Underground Railroad.

Honor’s Quaker religion teaches her to despise slavery and she quickly begins helping the runaways that she encounters at her family’s farm. She soon learns that ideals can suffer in the harsh light of reality; her family forbids her from helping the runaways even though they agree with her views and new laws threaten hefty fines and imprisonment if defied. When a crisis is reached, Honor must decide between her beliefs and the law. Which path will she take and at what cost?

Much like Honor, this book is deceivably simple – a straightforward story line with a clearly drawn situation. But also like Honor, there is a lot of hidden depth here. How do you stand up for your beliefs against the majority? How do you battle loneliness and homesickness when you know you can never return home? How do you find purpose and meaning? There is a lot of  rich imagery, of the beauty and harshness of nature, of the quilts Honor expertly sews and the differences from their English counterparts. I enjoyed the view of a mid-1800s life on what was essentially the frontier, and a glimpse of the Quaker religion, practices and principals. Throughout the book, Honor hangs on to the Quaker belief that “there is Light in everyone” even when people are at their worst; a lesson that has never gone out of style.

OK, now it’s your turn – what did you read this month? Let us know in the comments!

 

Banned Books Week: Beloved by Toni Morrison

- Ann Leave a comment

In honor of Banned Books Week, which lasts until October sixth, I’m revisiting my favorite banned book: Beloved by Toni Morrison. I first read this masterpiece in a high school English course; it’s dense and lyrical and moving. The story is based on a real-life tragedy: an escaped slave woman who murdered her own children to stop her owner from recapturing them. That woman is Sethe, and her life story is one of mingled despair and hope, tragedy and good luck. The narrative is touched by the supernatural: the spirit of Sethe’s murdered baby, whose headstone only reads Beloved, has haunted her house ever since her death. 20 years later, when a pretty 20 year old girl turns up on Sethe’s front step knowing things only a family member could know, it’s unclear what her intentions and her identity really are.

Sethe’s story is magical and moving. It’s been banned or challenged for containing offensive language, explicit sexuality, and being “unsuited to age group,” according to the American Library Association’s list of banned and challenged books. When I read this novel as a teenager, I wasn’t scarred, offended, or damaged: Morrison’s book was, instead, eye-opening and moving. It made me more interested in literature and in history, and it gave my class fodder for discussions that improved our understanding of reading and the way it impacts real life. I hope you’ll check it out: you won’t be disappointed.

To learn more about this book, censorship, and Banned Books Week, check out the ALA Banned Books Week website.

The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam

- Ann 1 Comment

submitted by Georgann

road-of-lost-innocenceThis inspiring true story is the author’s experience as a sex slave in Cambodia, how she broke free and how she now helps other girls find freedom. Somaly Mam is a simple woman, not well educated, and she tells her story in simple, frank language. I was hesitant to read it at first because I was afraid it would be too explicit and give me nightmares. Although she tells a heartrending story and she still suffers nightmares, it was not so graphic as to give them to me.

In The Road of Lost Innocence, Mam explains the series of tragic events that lead to her being sold into the sex slave trade when she was about 16. As she relates those years your heart just breaks. What all this woman lived through is just unbelievable.

Eventually Mam escaped and made a life for herself. Now she heads up an organization that helps other women and girls as young as six to also escape. She lives in constant threat to her life and to those of her children, but she perseveres. I was glad I took the risk to read this story. It is a story of hope well worth reading.