Book Review: Slavery By Another Name

The Age of Neoslavery

Stars: 5/5

In reading Slavery By Another Name, you will learn that the millions of African-American slaves emancipated by the 13th Amendment were not necessarily ‘free’ in the Black Belt of the South. From the dawn of Emancipation to the Civil Rights Era, Blackmon exposes one particular form of enslavement, convict leasing, so prevalent, abhorrent and vile that, of the countless who were ensnared in it, many did not survive.

You have to admit you would be skeptical of how well a white author who, raised in the deep south and now a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, would recount this epoch in history. Here are two reasons to quell your skepticism: First, Douglas Blackmon lets the facts, garnered from his years of research, speak for themselves. Secondly, based on a personal anecdote he shares in the final pages of the book, it seems Blackmon has had the propensity to speak the truth to power and fight injustice via the power of the written word since he was eight years old. Kudos to Douglas Blackmon.

In Slavery By Another Name, Blackmon introduces us to Green Cottenham. Born in 1886, Green, the son of former slaves, grew up in a South free of slavery. However, it would be only a matter of time before fate catches up to Green and other young free African-Americans like him.

“Beginning in the late 1860s, and accelerating after the return of white political control in 1877, every southern state enacted an array of interlocking laws essentially intended to criminalize black life.” p.53

These thinly veiled laws and ordinances, such as vagrancy, were concocted and used to trap African-Americans into a system of peonage. Once convicted and sentenced, several fines were applied and the illiterate black men were told to make their mark on work contracts. These work contracts were then bought out by labor agents who, working on behalf of a large enterprise or corporation, were desperate for able-bodied men to keep their ever-growing industrious operation online. Once men like Green Cottenham were snared in the forced labor system, there was no escape. There were measures designed to keep them in the system; such as violation of rules which extended their sentence or the application of more fines which then required them to work longer to pay it off.

Coal mines, timber yards and swampy turpentine camps were all “...nurseries of death” as they took their toll on the convicts. The labor was physical, clothing was minimal and never laundered and the food served in unsanitary conditions was nothing to be desired. At night, the convicts remained shackled in their vermin infested living quarters and, in the case of those working the coal mines, literally only saw the light of day on Sundays.

If one did not succumb to disease such as tuberculosis or dysentery, which was rampant, maybe the physical torture one received as punishment for not making their daily quota did. In many cases, the labor bosses obliged those who wished for death in lieu of the continued lashing of the flesh.

“An unintended distinction between antebellum slavery and the new forced labor system became increasingly clear-and disastrous for the men captured into it. Slaves of the earlier era were at least minimally insulated from physical harm by their intrinsic financial value. Their owners could borrow money with slaves as collateral, pay debts with them, sell them at a profit, or extend the investment through production of more slave children. But the convicts of the new system were of value only as long as their sentences or physical strength lasted. If they died while in custody, there was no financial penalty to the company leasing them. Another black laborer would always be available from the state or a sheriff. There was no compelling reason not to tax these convicts to their absolute physiological limits.” p.96

Blackmon has cast light on a long, dark chapter in our history; history that was glossed over in or omitted entirely from our text books. It is now suggested reading.  There is also a documentary film, Slavery By Another Name, also worthy of recommendation.

As for Green Cottenham, his slow march to death came to an end after five months working in the coal mines. His life may have been forgotten, his body buried long ago in an unmarked grave, his descendants barely traceable but his story and many like him will live on for generations thanks to Douglas Blackmon.

video source:  PBS promotional video.  Slavery By Another Name

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Book Review: The Warmth of Other Suns

 
 
It was vast. It was leaderless. It was an overground railroad.

Stars: 5/5

Pulitzer Prize winning author, Isabel Wilkerson, has penned a superb national bestseller on The Great Migration, the flight of African-Americans out of the Jim Crow South to the North where the racial temperament was less caustic. The Warmth of Other Suns is an immense work; part African-American history and part biography of three unrelated people who were participants in what Wilkerson called, “...the first mass act of independence..... to escape what might be considered a man-made pestilence...” (p.10, p.178)

The primary arc of the text follows the migration of three individuals: Ida Mae Gladney (from Mississippi to Illinois), George Swanson Starling (from Florida to New York) and Robert Pershing Foster (from Louisiana to California). But they were not alone, Wilkerson interviewed countless other African-Americans, including her own parents, who traversed the United States anywhere between the years of 1910 to the early 1970s.

Wilkerson has taken the oral histories and the extensive research and with deft writing has woven these threads into a vivid tapestry that is wonderfully engaging.

video source:  BU Today:  Telling America's Untold Story/Isabel Wilkerson

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Book Review: Denmark Vesey

“nothing could be done without fire.” (p.59)

Stars: 4/5

The Denmark Vesey story is a remarkable one; in today’s context it would be a crime drama. Nine years before Nat Turner’s bloody slave insurrection, Denmark Vesey, a free man, was the mastermind behind what would unfold to be the largest slave rebellion in South Carolina’s history. The major difference between the insurrections of Vesey and Turner is the latter actually took place; Vesey’s plan was never carried out. The lack of physical evidence makes the whole ordeal a little suspicious. Robertson and other historians point to the political aspirations of one individual, James Hamilton, Jr., Charleston’s Intendant, as the reason behind Vesey’s demise:

“Bennett and his brother-in-law were both of the opinion that Hamilton had exaggerated the seriousness of the rumoured slave revolt.” (p.91)

“The ‘plot’ was probably never more than loose talk by aggrieved and bitter men.” - Richard C. Wade (p. 94)

The summer of 1822 was Charleston’s darkest hour. The arrest, trial and execution of Denmark Vesey and some 30-plus co-conspirators was an overt display of superiority to slaves and black freemen alike, eradicating any thought of future rebellion; and to the frightened white people of Charleston that, “there were to be no more Denmark Veseys.” (p.122)
 
 
video source:  excerpt from Africans in America: Brotherly Love (1791-1831)
 
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Book Review: A Lie of Reinvention: Correcting Manning Marable's Malcolm X

"Marable’s greatest contribution has been to resurrect Malcolm X." p.179

Stars: 4/5

If you are planning to read or have read ‘Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention’ by Manning Marable, I suggest upon completion you follow up with this book.

A Lie of Reinvention is a compilation of essays by noted writers & scholars addressing Marable’s biography on Malcolm X. Convincing arguments are made here; some quite scholarly, but not unpredictable given what Marable wrote. The critiques vary from highlighting inconsistencies, challenging the information sources and even Marable’s intent or rationale for inclusion of certain information.

As I stated in my review of ‘Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention’: one book or one author is not enough to contain this man and his transformation. As many of the writers here noted, the biggest positive stemming from Marable’s biography – some contend it is the only positive – is it brings Malcolm X and his legacy back into the conversation. I believe critical review and rebuttal is important in order to keep the discussion going, unfortunately Marable is no longer with us to defend his work.
 
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Book Review: Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

A Purpose-Driven Life

Stars: 4/5

A great comprehensive biography for a complex individual whom Ossie Davis called “...our own black shining Prince.” The dedication and research that Manning Marable put into this book is simply exhaustive... and it shows. From womb to tomb, the life of Malcolm Little is traversed here; from Malcolm Little born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Detroit Red, to Malcolm X , to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

In contrast to the “Autobiography of Malcolm X” by Alex Haley, Marable claims his “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention” includes information on FBI and police surveillance, details from lost chapters that were not included in Haley’s book, access to speeches prior to 1950 and more context into Malcolm’s activities concerning MMI and OAAU.

I see that this biography has come under criticism for potential inaccuracies. However, it is still a worthy read, as well as the published counter arguments and other biographies. One book or one author is not enough to contain this man and his transformation. It is up to the astute reader to disseminate and fashion together, from all sources, the legacy of Malcolm X.
 
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Book Review: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

"Claudette had lit the fuse to a powder keg of protest...” p. 65

Stars: 4/5

I stumbled upon this paperback when helping my 12 year-old daughter find age-appropriate, non-fiction books for a school assignment. After reading the text on the back cover, I was amazed that I had never heard of Claudette Colvin. Considering the book was written for young readers, I quickly searched for other books on Claudette Colvin; specifically ones written for adults. My search yielded another amazing fact: not much is written about Ms. Colvin and her claim to history. After reading this book, you'll gain some insight as to why that is. Hoose, with the help of Colvin, has produced a gem.

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Book Review: Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July

"An apostle of freedom and a tireless agitator" p. 203

Stars: 5/5

If you are expecting this book to be about one speech given on or about one particular day - the Fourth of July - you are in for a surprise. Colaiaco has crafted an impressively comprehensive study on Frederick Douglass. The dissemination of the “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” speech is the major arc but it is not the book’s only appeal. To provide context, the author presents copious material on the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney's majority opinion on Dred Scott v. Sanford; both of which were major setbacks to the abolitionist movement but were not enough to deter Frederick Douglass. Colaiaco also provides a brief observation into the relationship between Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison and when and why their abolitionist strategies diverged. The intentions of the framers of the Constitution, other relevant Frederick Douglass speeches and Abraham Lincoln’s role during this time are also analyzed and discussed here.
I will mention that this book does not include the full “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” speech. Although this can be easily overcome with a simple internet search, I believe it would be nice to have it included in the book as an appendix.

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Book Review: The Fires of Jubilee

 
 

The inclusion of 'Fierce' in the subtitle was no accident.

Stars: 4/5

The Fires of Jubilee is an historic account of one of the most significant slave rebellions on American soil.  Thanks to Oates exhaustive research, The Fires... provides a vivid portrayal of the gruesome deeds that Nat Turner and his band of brothers committed on that fateful day in August of 1831. 

Nat Turner, as described, was more than a slave.  By all standards, he was literate, intelligent and presented himself as a decent and trustworthy slave.   Most importantly, he was, as some considered, blessed with divine gifts and was tormented with possessing such power and yet still a slave:

“... behind Nat’s well-mannered facade was a messianic individual who felt himself driven into some corner of slavery from which there was no return.  He was like a powerful angel whose wings were nailed to the floor.” (p.41)

Nat believed that the brutality he unleashed was for a higher purpose; a ‘you shall reap what you sow’ exhibition that would somehow reveal the wrongs of slavery .

Around the time of the rebellion, Oates frames the role of the abolitionist movement as well as offering insight into the political climate of the day.  Both of which contributed to pitting North and South against each other in that critical time period leading up to the most tempestuous season in American History; the Civil War.

 
video source:  excerpt from Africans in America: Brotherly Love (1791-1831)
 
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Book Review: The Future Of The Race

The Future Of The Race

Stars: 5/5

I recommend that if you are planning to read, or have recently read, W.E.B. Du Bois's 1903 essay `The Talented Tenth', that you also follow through and read `The Future Of The Race'. I, myself, landed on this book after reading The Talented Tenth (Illustrated). `The Future Of The Race', published in 1996, is a collection of essays by two of the foremost leading black public intellectuals: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cornel West. The compositions by Gates and West specifically address W.E.B. Du Bois and `The Talented Tenth' and offer a more contemporary perspective on Du Bois's call for Black intelligentsia to be the leaders of the race. Dr. West would probably state that his critique of Du Bois at the turn of the 20th Century is out of respect, admiration and love; however, he does not hesitate in underscoring the areas where Du Bois is lacking:

"The grand example of Du Bois remains problematic principally owing to his inadequate interpretation of the human condition and his inability to immerse himself fully in the rich cultural currents of black everyday life." (p. 55)

In the essay, `The Parable of the Talents', Gates interjects his own collegiate life experiences to provide the framework to the notion that so much diversity (socioeconomic, cultural, class, etc...) exists within African-American community that just the intelligent tenth of same group would find it difficult to satisfy Du Bois's request to `save the Negro race':

"As economic differences increase, the need to maintain the appearance of cultural and ideological conformity also increases. But it is these fake masks of conformity that disguise how very vast black class differentials really are. And no amount of kinte cloth or Kwanzaa celebrations will change this." (p. 37).

For convenience and reference, both 'The Talented Tenth' and Du Bois's own critique some 45 years later, `The Talented Tenth Memorial Address', is located in the book's appendix. A great all-in-one book for readers.


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Book Review: Freedom Riders

Freedom Riders

Stars: 5/5

Before those who Marched on Washington, there were the Freedom Riders of 1961. Before Rosa Parks of 1955, there was Irene Morgan of 1944. Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia was the Supreme Court case that started it all; it’s ruling allowed for desegregated bus travel for interstate bus travelers. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) first attempted a ‘Journey of Reconciliation’ in 1947 which tested the Supreme Court decision. The more robust Freedom Rides across the Deep South came later.

Arsenault does a superb job of covering end-to-end the transformative nature of the Freedom Rides; the first large-scale nonviolent direct action civil rights movement. The entire cast, the organizers, the Kennedy Administration and the staunch Southern segregationists are all on display here. As for the diverse band of individuals called the Freedom Riders “…the greater the hardship, the more committed they seemed to be”, you will discover that their commitment and courage is unmatched on any level. Unbeknownst to them, their attempt in 1961 to speed up the slow gradualism of racial equality, became the blueprint for future nonviolent civil rights action.

Companion DVD: American Experience: Freedom Riders [Blu-ray]



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Book Review: The Mis-Education of the Negro

“The mere imparting of information is not education.” Ch. 1

Stars: 4/5

The Mis-Education of the Negro is a powerful glimpse into the state of the Negro in the Early 20th Century as analyzed by noted African-American historian and scholar, Carter G. Woodson. Throughout Mis-Education, Woodson addresses several key points:

How the Negro ended up in his predicament:
Woodson explains that the traducers of the race, those who oppress the Negro through propaganda and mis-education, “…by teaching [the Negro] that his black face is a curse and that his struggle to change his condition is hopeless is the worst sort of lynching. It kills one’s aspirations and dooms him to vagabondage and crime.” (Ch. 1 –The Seat of the Trouble)

Education:
“….the schools for the classical education for Negroes have not done any better… The Negro trained in the advanced phases of literature, philosophy, and politics has been unable to develop far in using his knowledge because of having to function in the lower spheres of the social order.” (Ch. 2 – How We Missed the Mark).

The apathy of the highly educated Negro:
“the highly educated Negro often grows sour….” (Ch. 1 –The Seat of the Trouble) with many siding with segregationists on the best solution for the Negro race.

Entrepreneurship:
Why Negroes will not patronize black owned businesses & the need for Negro in professions other than religious ministry are some of the topics Wooden expounds upon.



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Book Review: Hope and History

Hope and History

Stars: 4/5

Hope and History is a compilation of essays and letters written by noted historian Vincent Harding. These essays were written specifically for teachers; as teachers are, as Harding notes, “…the nurturers, the encouragers of all the dreams.” (p. 157)

Harding, leading consultant on and champion of the popular Civil Rights series, ‘Eyes on the Prize’, draws on ‘Eyes…’ in almost every essay. Hope and History reads as if it was a complementary text to the series of videos. Hope and History 2nd edition also attempts to remain current with a letter to President Barack Obama (Chapter 13) and related Obama references appearing periodically throughout the text; commentary intended to bridge the past with the present. For example:

“Forty years later the impossible became president moving through the doors that Fannie Lou Hamer had opened, Shirley Chisholm challenged, and Jesse Jackson expanded.” (p.100)

‘Eyes on the Prize’ and Hope and History should always be a part of the African-American experience/learning experience. These, as well as Harding’s other contributions, truly make him, to use his words, an Artisan of Democracy.

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Book Review: What Virtue There Is in Fire

 
Masterfully done.

Stars: 4/5

Edwin T. Arnold composes a comprehensive review of the April 12, 1899 lynching of Sam Hose in Newnan, Ga. You could probably recount the entire Sam Hose lynching in about 50 pages or less but what distinguishes Arnold's chronicle is that he provides context leading up to and surrounding that fateful day. For example, in January of same year, the Palmetto [Georgia] Massacre where nine Negroes were arrested and subsequently shot by a masked mob had already tightened the vise of racial tension.

Another ominous precedent was the torture and burning of Henry Smith in Paris, Texas 6 years earlier. Arnold recaps the entire event and considers it, "....one of the first spectacle burnings, one that would provide a protocol for Sam Hose's execution..." (Ch. 6 - A Holocaust of Human Flesh)

Finally, the print media and its role is featured prominently throughout the text. It provides insight into the general consensus of the day and how the Sam Hose lynching was viewed by all, nationally and internationally.

W.E.B. DuBois points to the "grisly lynching" of Sam Hose as the event that `pulled him off of his feet' - the impetus to begin his long march against racial injustice. I will contend that after reading `What Virtue...', you will be moved as well.

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Book Review: A Home Elsewhere

A Home Elsewhere

Stars: 4/5

A Home Elsewhere is an impressive collection of six academic lectures and essays by Robert Stepto, Professor of American Studies, African-American Studies, and English at Yale University. I was first drawn to this book after reading Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama. In the first half of the compilation, Stepto collates 'Dreams...' with other classic African-American narratives and novels such as My Bondage and My Freedom - Frederick Douglass, Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Souls of Black Folk to name a few. The authors and/or characters and the episode, scene or storyline are compared and contrasted to bring similarities to light.

The second half of the book ranges from an engaging memoir of Stepo's first year of collegiate life in 'A Greyhound Kind of Mood' to an erudite essay in 'Afterword: Distrust of the Reader in Afro-American Narratives'. Also included here is a brief introduction to Willard Savoy and his protagonist, Kern Roberts, in Savoy's novel Alien Land

If you are a reader, avid or otherwise, of important African-American literary work, you will appreciate Stepo's scholarly treatment as he situates authors, characters and narratives in the Age of Obama.

Besides the titles listed above, the following are other notable references used in A Home Elsewhere:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
The Heroic Slave
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
Song of Solomon
Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave, Written by Himself

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Book Reveiw: Dreams from My Father

The Audacity of a Dreamer

Stars: 4/5

Dreams from My Father chronicles Barack Obama's journey as he struggles to find an equitable balance in multiple facets of his life. Barack, the product of a white mother and a Kenyan father, attempts to define his racial identity, his faith and his calling. What is also missing in his life is his father, Barack Sr. During the formidable years of maturation when a father figure is integral, Barack relies on his maternal grandfather to fill that void. Barack Sr. dies when Barack is 21 years old, leaving him with just one memory of ever meeting his father.

The book is segmented into three parts: Origins, Chicago, and Kenya. In Origins, after having spent several years in Indonesia with his mother, his mother's second husband and his half-sister, Barack returns to Hawaii and is raised by his maternal grandparents. At one critical juncture, Barack decides to turn to reading and absorbing literature from noted African-American authors such as James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Malcolm X (autobiography of), Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes and Richard Wright. In Chicago, we watch Barack as a community organizer navigate the ills of the South Side of Chicago. Here, we also find Barack resolve his issues around faith, joining Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ. In the final segment, Kenya, Barack ends his quest with a pilgrimage to the birthplace of his father. Through the historical context provided by his Kenyan family, Barack is able to achieve closure and finally add a dose of reality to the Dream, the man, his father.


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Book Review: Dark Days, Bright Nights

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Dark Days, Bright Nights

Stars: 5/5

Peniel Joesph's deep dive into the civil rights era, culling out Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, et al. to examine the relationship between the men and the movement is unrivaled in its academic analysis. The participants, messages & timelines of the Civil Rights campaign, the era of Black Power/Pan-Africanism and Barack Obama's unprecedented rise to America's highest political office are carefully dissected and analyzed. By comparing and contrasting the civil disobedience generation to Carmichael's Black Power activism to transitioning to Obama's call to adhere to a higher standard of racial harmony, Joseph reveals the connective tissue that binds these iconic figures together.



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The Shirley Chisholm Project of Brooklyn Women’s Activism

The Shirley Chisholm Project of Brooklyn Women’s Activism is a repository of women’s grassroots social activism in Brooklyn since 1945 and ongoing in the present. In the spirit of Chisholm’s legacy as a path breaking community and political activist, the project will also follow the many paths she pioneered, by including materials representing the wide range of women’s grassroots activism throughout the borough.

The project collects oral histories, including documents and other materials, from people who knew or worked with Chisholm, as well as from the extraordinary diversity of women’s activist organizations in Brooklyn since 1945.

Click here for more infomation on the Shirley Chisholm Project of Brooklyn Women’s Activism,

Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice

video credit: preview of a documentary produced by the University of Georgia School of Social Work on the life of legendary civil rights attorney Donald L. Hollowell.  The documentary is slated for release on April 15, 2010.

Book Review: Democracy Matters

"Democracy is more a verb than a noun" (pg. 68)

Stars: 4/5

Dr. West, once again, wants you to think critically about the societal ills of today and how we, as a populace, can arm ourselves with the necessary knowledge to rectify the situation. In Democracy Matters, he describes three prevailing trends in today's world that threaten democracy: free market fundamentalism, aggressive militarism and escalating authoritarianism. Upon further reading, you will be hard-put in countering his rational for these trends.

Dr. West contends that the "..insidious growth..." of nihilism has been "... suffocating the democratic energies of America" and offers three compelling antidotes to restore that deep democratic energy: Socratic questioning, Prophetic witness and Tragicomic hope. You will find these themes run throughout the text including chapters on Christian identity in America and engaging America's youth.

Dr. West suggests that in the tradition of Emerson, Baldwin, Melville and Morrison, visionaries who possessed democratic acuity, we re-energize ourselves, move collectively against the antidemocratic dogmas, question motives of the corporate elite, and not acquiescence in the face of the status quo.

I believe Democracy Matters is worthy of at least four stars despite the fact that, in the chapter regarding the engagement of America's youth, Dr West digresses by reviewing the ordeal that transpired between himself and Harvard president, Larry Summers. All in all, Dr. West's discourse on democracy is relevant, insightful and thought-provoking.

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