I first read the autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley in my 9th grade Social Studies class. We could read either Booker T. Washington's biI first read the autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley in my 9th grade Social Studies class. We could read either Booker T. Washington's biography or Malcolm X's. I'm pretty sure I chose Malcolm X but it may have been assigned to me. This was before Spike Lee's movie and I knew very little about Brother Malcolm. I now know much more about him as an activist but this filled in many holes about his childhood, life before prison and his transformation in prison into the leader we recognize today. This is truly fascinating and combines letters, articles and interviews seamlessly into an interesting perspective of Malcolm's development. I think this will appeal to scholars of all levels who are interested in how Malcolm was formed into Malcolm X. I loved the juxtaposition this style of biography yielded. I hope to see more important historical figures given this kind of in depth treatment. Most especially those figures who would've been marginalized by the society they lived in. Also I can not stress how intensely thorough this early focus on Malcolm's experiences are. These are the experiences that create Malcolm X the leader and it's a treasure to explore.
This audiobook is narrated by James Fouhey. James voice is rich and his intonation helps to keep the reader interested. This was well matched between narrator and text.
Thank you to Patrick Parr, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This was well researched and interesting. In the beginning the author lets the reader know the idea for this story was in response to increasing policThis was well researched and interesting. In the beginning the author lets the reader know the idea for this story was in response to increasing police violence towards Black men in the United States. The author uses white Americans response to and treatment of Black boxers to show how racism impacts how Black men are viewed in our society.
This really brought to mind my Black father. He was a large man, he played college football, and very dark skinned. My father was always clean, clothes ironed, smelling good and usually smiling when he left the house. I did not notice until I was an adult that was a performance so he wouldn't be harassed by police or frightened white folks. As a toddler I got into medicine in an aunt's suitcase when she visited. My white mom grew up in an all white sundown town and I was visiting with her there when it happened. My father rushed to the ER where he was held by security because of his rightful concern over the impact to his toddler. My mom thought this was hilarious but I understand what danger he was in. Just for existing as a large Black man who wasn't bothering to smile to put white folks around him at ease. Its a lot of pressure and I witnessed the toll it took on him. This narrative resonated with me on every level.
The author cleverly uses the headlines from white papers and later news programs to express how Black man are viewed as less than human beings. Most of these were painful to hear. Yet more relevant today than ever before as we roll back protections for Black Americans from white supremacy at an alarming rate. The Federal government recently removed the ban against segregation in Federal contracts. Sadly, it looks like my grandsons will be subject to much the same treatment and experience my father had. Of course, we've never really, as a nation, gotten completely away from these white supremacist views as the author brilliantly points out in this history. I was expecting this to be about Black Heavyweight champs full of names I'd recognize. This was much deeper than what I expected. While I was familiar with the more famous boxers covered, I had the opportunity to learn about Black boxers I'd never even heard of.
I'd recommend this to fellow lovers of history, boxing, and Black history in general. This was incredibly thorough and the research offered was fascinating. I highly suggest the audiobook version as this flowed well and helped some of the ugly parts feel less painful. This audiobook is wonderfully narrated by L. Malaika Cooper. Her voice was rich and firm. It truly suited the text which dealt with white supremacy and racism. This never felt preachy or dry and the narrators voice was steady but interesting.
Thank you to Jordana Moore Saggese, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This is beautifully and respectfully handled given that this is based on real people and real events in US history. I think Vanessa Miller has a true This is beautifully and respectfully handled given that this is based on real people and real events in US history. I think Vanessa Miller has a true gift for breathing life into historical characters and situations.
This follows the Justice sisters, Evelyn and Margaret, who are the daughters of Henry Justice, a grocer in Tulsa. The action begins almost immediately, and the escape from the white mob is horrifying to endure with the sisters. The sisters are separated from their father and manage to find their way to a safe harbor at The Filling Station owned by Fred & Alberta Threatt. Their escape is only part of the story, which I appreciate. I'm most familiar with the terrorism that destroyed Tulsa, I've seen it re-enacted on television shows such as Watchmen & Lovecraft Country both on HBO if memory serves. The horror described in the novel hits harder than the TV visuals. Both shows mentioned are excellent and worth a watch.
What I loved about this novel was its coverage of and focus on the aftermath or the massacre. How the survivors were impacted by this horror and how that informed their lives. This explores those survivors that returned and those who did not. This covers the long arm of CPTSD and how some managed to move on. Not all did move on, and that's important to note.
This covers history actively being erased by the current US administration, and it's important to have fiction to expand on facts. I don't fool myself into believing that fiction won't be influenced by the current fascist agenda of the US government.
The Christian themes felt heavy, and I wasn't interested in the characters' struggles with her faith. I'm not a Christian, and while I love this author's storytelling style, I find her focus on Christianity heavy and largely uninteresting in a story of this nature. Too much focus on and exploration of Christian faith for me.
I preordered this on audiobook based on my love of the author's previous novel, The American Queen. My NetGalley player was glitchy, probably because this review was due weeks ago when I was too sick to keep up with my review due dates. I listened to the copy I purchased, so I would not need to delay this review further. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of historical fiction, Black history, US history, and readers of Christian fiction.
The narrator of this audiobook is Angel Pean. Angel is a narrator I'm familiar with, have high expectations of, and generally offers narration I deeply enjoy. This novel was no exception. This covers a disturbing incident in US history, and I find that audiobooks can help blunt the horrors a bit in a novel like this. Angel's narration brought these characters and this historical episode to life.
Thank you to Vanessa Miller, Thomas Nelson & Zondervan Fiction Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This high-quality audiobook production has full musical soundtrack, sounds of kids playing outside, grilling sounds, conversation background noises, aThis high-quality audiobook production has full musical soundtrack, sounds of kids playing outside, grilling sounds, conversation background noises, all of which play underneath the narration of Melinda Sewak. Melinda has a rich and melodious voice, which manges to convey building excitement and joy very thoroughly.
This takes place at a recent Juneteenth neighborhood celebration. There are kids playing and families barbecuing, tables set up selling incense and jewelry with a real festival atmosphere. This talks quite a bit about traditional Black Juneteenth foods and drinks, like red drink and red beans and rice.
This educates about the first Juneteenth using age appropriate language and why this holiday exists. I love that this focuses on how Juneteenth celebrations started and how they've evolved over the decades into recent years. This is an important holiday that's only been legal a few short years. This gives facts and focuses on freedom but only mentions slavery very lightly without exactly defining what it was to be enslaved. This is appropriate for young kids.
Thank you to Kortney Nash, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This is the adventure of Will and his father on a 'land run' in Oklahoma. This begins in post-Reconstruction Era Texas and includ4.5 Stars Rounded Up
This is the adventure of Will and his father on a 'land run' in Oklahoma. This begins in post-Reconstruction Era Texas and includes a history filled adventure about Western expansion. I have seen very little media that features Black folks settling the West post Civil War. This is educational, interesting, and fun, a sure-fire combination to keep many kids interested in this story.
This is ideal for grade school-age kids, maybe 2nd or 3rd grade and up. I really wanted to listen to this with my grandkids, who are the target age for this novel. This is laid out well to do a chapter a night with newer readers or to allow older readers to move at their own pace.
I've been introducing my grandkids to immersion reading, and I think this audio is perfect for immersion reading. The narrator of this audiobook is Christopher Hampton. Mr. Hampton has a voice that is rich with emotion and excitement. His narration brought the character of Will and his journey to life. This would also work for middle school readers. There's quite a bit of adventure, and the story itself is interesting.
Thank you to Jewell Parker Rhodes, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
I'm not sure how to review this. I learned so very much about environmental issues from this author. I think she's worked hard for decades and has a lI'm not sure how to review this. I learned so very much about environmental issues from this author. I think she's worked hard for decades and has a lot of wisdom and guidance to offer.
I agree with the author in so much as activists have to do what they can without regard to party. At the same time, the author defends Jeff Sessions and pretends that racists are incapable of polite behavior with Black folks, and that's a vast over simplification of the issue.
Hardened racists who were members of the Klan were known to also have biracial children. White racists aren't always mean to everyone all of the time. They aren't cartoon villains. I know this author is old enough and lived long enough to know this.
There's a somewhat preachy and unnecessary tone towards younger activists who aren't functioning like this author's generation, and she has passive-aggressive snide remarks about that.
She pretends that MAGA and Trump supporters can be worked with. The thing is, this isn't true. This type of activism doesn't work for long-term change. I wish the author had more respect for young activists who are moving in a different way. It's frustrating because most of this was said in the 70s, and it's like the author missed the memo.
In my opinion, pretending that MAGA Republicans are neutral actually normalizes racism. The author even shares anecdotes about Republican politicians literally using her for photo ops like the interaction was a win. It's kind of cringey.
This is a mixed bag for me because I found the stories of Black rural life fascinating. I spent a lot of time in rural Alabama on a Great-Uncles farm, and I've witnessed the grinding poverty. It was wonderful to see this author shine a light on this population, which is often forgotten in the fight for civil rights and climate change. These stories touched my heart and made me long for my childhood summers spent on the family farm in Alabama. I'm familiar with this history.
My main issue is that the author has experience to share, but her solutions failed to work for her generation. It would be nonsensical to apply them in this generation. This is worth reading but prepare to be irritated with the author's lecturing tone and resulting conclusions.
This is narrated by Karen Chilton. Karen does an excellent job with this nonfiction book, keeping her tone light. This adds depth to information that could otherwise feel like a bit of a boring lecture. I would highly recommend consuming this on audiobook.
Thank you to Catherine Coleman Flowers, Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
The narrator of this audiobook is the author, Imani Perry. Her voice is soft, genteel, and cultured. It's an advantage to hear the author read her ownThe narrator of this audiobook is the author, Imani Perry. Her voice is soft, genteel, and cultured. It's an advantage to hear the author read her own words. Most especially in this book, which is almost laid out like poetry but broken up by historical essays.
This is somewhat a history of Black Americans and the Diaspora, as seen through our connection to the color blue. My favorite colors are Black & purple. However, I'm well aware that blue is the most common favorite color alongside green.
Blue is special to Black Americans who created a musical genre, literally called 'the blues'. It also holds significance in African Traditional Religions (ATR) in the Americas. All over the South are 'haint' blue porches. Haint blue is my favorite shade of blue. It's not widely available in Detroit, where I grew up.
This also covers the history of Indigo and its ties to the Transatlantic Slave Trade. I don't really know how to describe this. A love letter to Black folks works. This is beautifully done and not to be missed. In fact, I pre-ordered this on audiobook because I can already tell this will be a top reread of mine during the shenanigans of the coming 4 years. This is like chicken soup for the Black Soul. I think readers across the Diaspora will appreciate this. It's simple, historically accurate, and weirdly comforting. Something I don't often say about nonfiction that deals directly with chattel slavery and the Middle Passage.
For those interested in the spiritual meaning and representation of blue, I offer Grandma Baby Apothecary's: Grandma Baby's 52 Blues playing cards. They are round and gorgeous, my Ancestors love them. If you don't understand this reference, no worries...more
This was light hearted, cozy and delightful. I truly love this author's Christmas novels. This was light hearted, cozy and delightful. I truly love this author's Christmas novels. ...more
I liked this overall. It's a first novel, and that could be felt in places as a bit of awkwardness. The first half of this story felt like royal histoI liked this overall. It's a first novel, and that could be felt in places as a bit of awkwardness. The first half of this story felt like royal historical fiction. I quite enjoyed the court politics and background. The second half of the book was full of fantastical magical situations and solutions. This is clearly a retelling of fairytale or a modern take on a fairytale.
This is set in pre-colonial Imperial Mail in 1359. The main character is Amie. Who was disinherited by her family, which resulted in her working as a servant. She's assigned as a kind of ladies maid to Princess Mariama, the daughter of Emporer Suleyman. This has clear mythological elements, stunning reveals, and the story is wrapped up nicely, but there's also a cliffhanger of sorts.
One of the best aspects of this audiobook is the narrator, Sandra Okuboyejo. Sandra does a phenomenal job of both keeping the historical aspects imbued with realistic feelings while at the same time adding to the magical and fantastical elements of the story.
My only complaint would be that this suffers from pacing issues. I was invested in the world building, but pacing can kill the flow for slower readers. This is a first novel, and the result is clunky in places. I deeply look forward to another novel by this author.
Thank you to Mina Fears, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This is narrated by the author, Dionne Brand, with the afterward also read by its author, Saidiya Hartman.
This acts as a beautiful and amazing explorThis is narrated by the author, Dionne Brand, with the afterward also read by its author, Saidiya Hartman.
This acts as a beautiful and amazing exploration of the Black Diaspora. How no matter where in the Diaspora you are or are from, we're all here because our ancestors walked through the Door of No Return. I've read this decades ago and couldn't resist the option of listening to this as a new audiobook. What w delightful way to make this crucial discussion even more accessible for those of us of the Diaspora.
This uses historical records, memoirs, etc. to recreate this experience, the trauma it wrought, and how that informs how we see and think of ourselves. It's so much more than this. It's almost a blending of art and history. In which many of the historical records that document this time period are scanty, but this map helps us find our way to who we are now.
This focused on and is tied in with the authors travels. I am a Black American who lived for a decade in Canada, and her observations about how Blackness is treated here are profound. I have so much more experience to bring with me to this reread. My experience is richer for it.
Thank you to Dionne Brand, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Odd Dot, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.
This audiobook is narrated by Melinda SewaThis audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Odd Dot, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.
This audiobook is narrated by Melinda Sewak. Melinda's voice is engaging and upbeat. This is an enhanced audiobook with music and a soundtrack.The music plays lightly in the background, which helps to hold children's attention but at the same time isn't distracting to older listeners. The soundtrack is used to enhance the narration and appeal to young readers/listeners. This is skillfully done, and my grandkids always love this style audiobook.
This has a fun positive affirmation vibe. The effect is a sweet book that works to build self-esteem in young kids. In essence, this encourages kids to dream big while reinforcing that they can choose their own future. I like the focus on joy and the power of imagination. This is light and the perfect length for toddler and young grade school-age kids.
Thank you to Odd Dot, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This novel has a fascinating premise. The author is a poet, and there are many delightfully beautiful turns of phrase. Overall, this was2.5 rounded up
This novel has a fascinating premise. The author is a poet, and there are many delightfully beautiful turns of phrase. Overall, this was slow. The characters are one dimensional and feel in most cases like literal stereotypes. I think if this was written in the 1920s, it would be fabulous, but as written in the 2020s and set in modern times, it falls flat. Honestly, this feels like an idea for a story that didn't get seasoned well or cooked long enough.
The author never capitalizes Black when referring to humans in the text. It's such an off-putting choice and bugged me throughout the text. It fits with the overall theme of infantilizing Black agency, which seemed to impact most of the story in the novel. I kinda like the anarchist aspect of folks working without pay and taking what they need. However, the idea that no one was left to run things is both suspect and insulting. Black cities with primarily Black governments exist right now.
A few, maybe 3, other countries are mentioned in an extremely minor way, but we don't even explore how the world responds to this situation. This had the potential to be really deep and say something profound but couldn't get out of its own way.
Spoilers: So white folks in a coma or on palliative care walked into water to drown themselves? What about white folks not near large bodies of water? Did white pilots' flying planes just fly the whole plane into the water, passengers, and all? Not to mention newborn babies. Did infants and toddlers walk into the water? Given the explanation provided in the story, why would fresh off the plane white immigrants and white visitors from other countries also walk into the water? So, this didn't impact white folks in Canada or Mexico? Even with similar histories? Why not as we don't have straight borders? The 'frequency' must've reached them, too. Did it happen in Alaska? Our sky would at the least be covered in foreign drones. White folks would absolutely show up to test if it would kill them, too. Ok, I'll just accept that all white folks died. Ignore that this makes zero sense even from the explanation given in the story. This kinda reminds me of the book, Bird Box, when after establishing that looking outside would cause suicidal & homicidal rages, Mallory just drives from her suburban home to downriver without protecting her vision in anyway. Sloppy world building galore.
Why does the author pretend that Black folks aren't prepared to run the country? It's like this is written in an alternate universe in which Obama was never president for 2 terms and the first woman to hold the office of Vice President wasn't Blasian. The Black Caucus didn't step up? Black folks make up about 30% of the Armed Services, including prominent Black Generals. Why would none of those people be prepared or able to run the country? It's okay if we chose not to, but the author implicitly states that we were unable to. That makes no logical sense.
Other POC are practically non-existant. So only Black folks get agency, which they don't know what to do with, and currently existing Indigenous governments, Sovereign fucking nations, don't step into the gap or assert their authority on their own fucking land?
So after white folks are gone, Black folks decide to mammy the Brown and biracial folks who long for a return to white supremacy? They keep them close so they can provide for their fast food chains. This is insultingly ludicrous. White folk are gone, but Black folks are still babysitting white supremacy....more
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Anthony E. Kaye, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley.
This has very interesting historiThis audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Anthony E. Kaye, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley.
This has very interesting historical aspects but there are serious problems with the portrayal of Nat in this narrative.
This text offers rich a plethora of historical information on Protestant churches in early colonial America, through the Revolution and into the early part of the 19th Century in which Nat's Rebellion occurs. This includes quite a lot of biblical information, bordering on too much, as well as information about the formation of the American Methodist Church. The text also included interesting and relevant information about other Slave Uprisings in the Americas and the Caribbean, such as Gabriel Prosser and the Haitian Revolution. Not as successfully handled is the focus on assumptions regarding how enslaved folks felt about and processed the christian god. Missing in this narrative is the very real and documented practice of what are today called 'African Traditional Religions'(ATR) amongst the enslaved, even christians. Black American religious traditions & superstitions are entirely left out of this narrative and that includes meaningful discussion of Hoodoo, Conjure, Voodoo, etc. The idea that these cultural ideas and mythology in no way impacted Nat or that this was not as much a part of his everyday life as christianity is not a reasonable deduction. For example Frederick Douglas, who was not known to be a believer in or practitioner of ATR, credited High John the Conqueror Root for fighting back against his overseer/enslaver. It's not unreasonable to believe that if Nat was led by religion, it was likely more than Christianity.
The entire theory set forth in this text rests on the belief that the white interviewer, Gray, who recorded Nat's confessions in jail did so honestly. That's highly unlikely, as in there is to date no recorded incident of this ever happening, even when the white interviewer/biographer was friendly towards the Black person they interviewed. Also it assumes that Nat was candidly honest with Gray and I don't know why any adult with a reasonable understanding of history at this time period would give weight to either of these assumptions. For an example I offer the debacle regarding Sojourner Truth's famous, 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech. The speech supposedly given by Ms. Truth and recorded by white feminists and abolitionist, Frances Dana Barker Gage, is now understood to be the offensive exaggeration of Ms. Gage. Frederick Douglas began his own paper, The North Star, in part because of the inaccuracies of white abolitionists. This theory is a major reach and the text never even addresses these questions in a frank and real manner. The narrative attempts to tie Nat to biblical warriors more than other Black leaders of Uprisings during chattel slavery. Unfortunately over the course of the text this framing conjures up 'magical negro' stereotyping which is cringey at best.
The narratives tone toward Nat's Uprising is a touch condescending. There was a reference to Nat's 'bias' towards white people or white enslavers? It's unclear. This is a white supremacist view of Enslaved folks uprisings. Clearly, the biased party are the enslavers, who enslaved Black people. When someone is oppressed, hating your oppressor is both natural and normal. As Malcolm X said, it's not violence, it's common sense. In a very real sense its self defense. Bias would be if West Africans showed up in Europe to steal people and enslave them because they were European. Just wildly offensive to refer to an actual enslaved person as biased against their enslavers. I don't understand how that wasn't removed in editing, it's horribly white supremacist. The modern understanding of and use of the word bias and why being biased is wrong is predicated on the idea that the biased person has no reason to hold bias, they are unharmed by the party they are biased against. For a victim to harm their enslaver isn't bias or violence, it's both common sense and self defense. The author is by default arguing that slave owners are more entitled to life than the Black people they enslaved. This racist thinking further implies that slavery is ok for Black people and for Black folks to fight against it and by default the white people employing that violence, using the same violent tools used against them is somehow immoral or biased on the part of the Black folks rebelling. This is just deeply offensive and unacceptable in a modern text about slavery.
The text directly states that Nat wasn't lead by 'modern' 'liberal' values like freedom and equality. This is just factually untrue. Even during the Antebellum period, enslaved folks repeatedly risked everything for freedom. Equality was a founding principle of both the French & Haitian revolutions. This is demonstrably not factual and reeks of a white historian will study this rationally and let the emotionally compromised Black folks know how they should feel about and view a member of their own community. This is just a horribly dated and white supremacist view of history.
In the final chapter the narration again seems to imply that Nat wasn't entitled to meet violence with violence in order to gain freedom. The text states that the slave owners that died might have changed their mind. This pretends as if slavery is a victimless, nonviolent crime. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those that died, died for the crimes they had already committed. Slavery itself was a crime characterized by unspeakable violence to an extent that can still be read on the bones of the enslaved today. The text doesn't really address the horror that made up everyday slavery: the beatings, the starvation, the lack of basic necessities like clothing and shelter, the family separation, the sexual violence participated in by every stratus of white society from the poor to the wealthy white men, women, children and everyone in between raped Black enslaved men, women, children and everyone in between. Black enslaved infants were used as bait for gators. Black enslaved peoples could have their anuses packed with gun powder because white men were bored. White men raped in packs in the slave quarters and they raped men particularly as part of the practice known as 'slave breaking'. Children were hung in closets for hours by their thumbs because they were the product of rape and it upset their white enslavers wives. The text overly focuses on the violence of the Uprising and refuses to equally focus on the violence that was everyday part of the system of chattel slavery in the Americas. How were Black folks supposed to be respond to that level of violence peacefully in a way that honored that their torturers might at some point have a change of heart? This is just an offensive and white supremacist view that values white life during what was a genocide of Black lives. It's a deeply offensive and tone deaf viewpoint. This is disrespectful in the extreme because Black folks employed every avenue open to them to get away from slavery. They used every tool in their arsenal from lawsuits in court to outright running away. White people as a group employed vast amounts of violence including death to oppress Black folks. They deserved to be met with the force they employed and every white person that died in every single slavery uprising deserved it and more. The genocided don't owe their genociders anything. To suggest otherwise is deeply offensive and a core function of white supremacy. The violence of white enslavers started at birth. Most white enslavers babies were nursed by Black enslaved women. Usually those women's own infants died of starvation while their milk was often exclusively reserved for the white enslaver infant. There were no innocent white folks who were enslavers, independent of their age. Also this is for the surviving descendants of the victims of this violence to decide, not the descendants of the enslavers of those victims to characterize and own. How dare this author even fix his fingers to type such an offensive, racist and white supremacist nonsense.
This was mostly disappointing and offensive. I'd say roughly 25% of the history contained in this text adds meaningfully to the history of Black folks enslaved in what is now the USA. Less than 5% of that useful information pertained to Nat Turner. This texts real value lies in the study of the rise of Protestant religions in North America. It's weakness is it's entire narrative on Nat Turner.
The narrator of this audiobook is Leon Nixon. Leon does a wonderful job keeping the text moving. This is somewhat weighty and heavy subject. The author's tone was lively and respectful.
Thank you to Anthony E. Kaye, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own. ...more
This is SO good. This history is shocking and upsetting but also fascinating. I had heard of The Freedman's Bank but wasn't at all familiar with the dThis is SO good. This history is shocking and upsetting but also fascinating. I had heard of The Freedman's Bank but wasn't at all familiar with the details, only the impact on the Black Community. I grew up in Detroit and am a proud graduate of Detroit Public Schools. I graduated in the early 90s. My high school history teacher told our class that the failure of the Freedman's Bank is why so many of our relatives don't use banks. My family used banks, but I had Black teachers at the school who did not. I had neighbors who did not. When I was a sales manager for a major cell phone company in the city with mostly Black employees, half of my staff refused direct deposit and had no bank accounts. I knew it was tied to this historical banking crisis, but I had not realized how severe the failure was. So when I saw this book on NetGalley, I was extra excited to review it.
This was fascinating in so many ways. I did not know much about early banks in the US. I had not realized that Savings & Loan operated as a style of Bank, not as an option at a regular bank. It's been lost in the history of the immediate post Antebellum period, but white abolitionists become obsessed at the end of the Civil War with this weird idea that formerly enslaved folks were lazy and looking for charity. There was no concern that former enslavers, who had proven themselves generationally to be too lazy to nurse or even care for their own kids, would be expecting charity from the government. In fact, former enslavers were expecting governmental charity and received it in restitution for the loss of their formerly enslaved property. Yes, quiet as it's kept, enslavers were paid reparations for slavery but the concern was that the formerly enslaved might have expectations of fairness. Let me not digress here.
The Savings and Loan Freedman's Bank was established primarily so that Black Union Soldiers could save money to care for themselves. This was the social movement of the era, the equivalent of a social safety net. So many working class populations were encouraged to invest their meager wages in a Savings and Loan Bank for their own retirement. These were not commercial institutions. They were supposed to be protected places to keep your money, and no great interest was expected to be earned on the monies held within, but you would at least get back what you invested. Banks that functioned as investments in loaning money to the community were different institutions.
The Freedman's Savings and Loan Bank was started and ruined by white men. Frederick Douglas was brought in only in the final years, after the bank was failing due to illegal mismanagement by the white leaders. Largely so he could be the public face of the failure. He took the job in an attempt to prevent the collapse of the bank, and in the event of a collapse, he hoped to be able to help the Black Community recover what assets it could.
The long and short of it is that formerly enslaved Black folks had more wealth than white folks expected. They trusted the system and invested "over $ 75 million ($ 1.9 trillion today)." The long and short of it is white people illegally stole the money and caused the bank to fail through their racist and illegal business practices. They stole millions from formerly enslaved peoples and mostly used the money so they and their friends could profit. When the bank was opened to giving out loans, Black folks who had used the bank to hold their money weren't eligible to borrow or take out a loan. So our own wealth wasn't even allowed to be used to grow our own community. After the white folks had stolen all they could, they placed Frederick Douglas in charge so the bank would be a visible failure of Black folks to perform in the financial sector. The government refused to even distribute the millions left in the bank when it failed to those who made deposits so they could recover any of their investments. The government failed to uphold its own laws and hold the white bank managers accountable for their theft.
It's so deeply shocking it honestly makes the case for Reparations all on its own. It's frustrating because victims of the Holocaust are allowed to fight for what was stolen from their families during WW2. Yet the exact same justice is denied Black Americans even when the issue is clear-cut thievery with an easy to trace record. I felt like this after learning about the Osage Murders dramatized in the movie Killers of the Flower Moon. The white folks who currently own this land are the direct descendants of those who murdered to steal it. How come they don't get their land back, at least? There's no reparations when white folks violate People of Color, only when white folks violate other white folks.
This is excellently researched and extremely interesting. There's a lot of history that isn't in the regular history books. The only good to come of this is that when the stock market crashed in 1929, Black folks didn't have much money in the system to lose. The long arm of this is brutal as far as impact today.
Thank you to Justene Hill Edwards, W. W. Norton & Company, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ebook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Mai Sennaar, Dreamscape Select, and NetGalley.
The narrator of this audiobook is JuThis audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Mai Sennaar, Dreamscape Select, and NetGalley.
The narrator of this audiobook is Julia Kwamya. While I did find most aspects of the narration good, the tone was a bit dry in places.
I quite enjoyed this multi-generational historical family story which focuses on the women of the Diaspora. The center of this tale is the love story of Bonnie and Mansour. The couple meet and fall in love in the late 60's. Mansour is a musician and the story covers their travels as a couple. When Mansour becomes unreachable while on tour, Bonnie, his mom, and family look for him. We learn their stories and Mansour's. I love the way this story unfolds.
Treatment of diasporic struggles is deliberately handled with a culturally relevant dexterity that I truly appreciated. I quite adored the international vibe to this!
I can't exactly specify why, but I have a feeling this novel might be better enjoyed in print. I personally plan to reread this in ebook or physical copy. Not all novels translate easily or well to audiobook format. I have a feeling that might be the case with this novel. It could also just be me. Its so hard to say.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you to Mai Sennaar, Dreamscape Select, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own...more
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Carole Hopson, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalleyRefreshing this for publication day!
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Carole Hopson, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.
The narrator of this audiobook is Alaska Jackson. Alaska did an exceptional job as this book took place in France, Germany, the North, and the South with each resulting accent. This had the function of placing the narration in the background to the story being told. It was a very successful choice for this novel.
This was really, really good. It was significantly better than I was expecting, and I had fairly high expectations. I was an adult when I found out about Bessie Coleman. I grew up learning about Ms. Earhart, but not a peep about Ms. Coleman. So, as an adult, I was amazed that she managed to go all of the way to Paris for flight training. I honestly assumed she was from an at least moderately wealthy and well-connected Black family. I was shocked to discover she was raised as a share cropper, and her mom was single head of household at least part of her growing up life. I've been hungry for a quality historical fiction novel about her life ever since. I have to say this novel was well worth the wait. The novel starts with Bessie in the air and then flashes back to her move to Chicago from Texas before her flight training in France. This covers her meeting with the men who helped her to arrange her training in France as well as helped fund her travels. This covers her training in Europe and her struggles to establish herself back in the US after her successful training. Bessie emerges from this story as a breathing, laughing, flesh, and blood woman. The skills of this author are superb. I know nothing about aviation, nor am I particularly interested in it, but I was riveted to the details in this story. In a way, it reminded me of when I read Pillars of the Earth because I equally don't care about church building. However, in both novels, the information is offered in such interesting ways and tied to such beloved characters, I know it'll live in my memory a surprising amount of time. I hope this author writes more historical fiction. This was phenomenal.
Thank you to Carole Hopson, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Shauna Robinson, Spotify Audiobooks, and NetGalley.
The narrator of this audiobook This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Shauna Robinson, Spotify Audiobooks, and NetGalley.
The narrator of this audiobook is Chante McCormick. Ms. McCormick's voice was perfect for Mae. With slight alterations in tone and pitch, Chante was able to effectively give each character their own voice. This allows the reader to simply settle in and enjoy the story. I quite enjoyed her and plan to seek put novels narrated by her in the future.
This was my first time reading a novel written by Ms. Robinson, but it won't be my last. I adored everything about this comfortable adult coming-of-age story.
The reader joins Mae just before her wedding to Conner. Conner is wealthy, from a well-connected family and white. Mae's background is different. Mae's father was Black, and her mother is white. Mae's parents both grew up in North Carolina and left before she was born. There was some drama about her parents interracial marriage that caused a rift in her father's family. As a result, after the death of Mae's father, she loses touch with her father's side of the family.
As a soon to be bride, Mae yearns to learn why her father's family isn't a part of her life. With her weddinh increasingly becoming a society affair put on by the groom's parents, Mae decides to head down to North Carolina.
Mae finds out some truths about those she loves that surprise her. This handles the complexity of interracial families well. I have a white mom and a Black father. Now I was born in the 70s, but it's surprising how much things stay the same.
Thank you to Shauna Robinson, Spotify Audiobooks, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own. ...more
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Tyler Gordon, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley. My grandkids, grade school age, lovedThis audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Tyler Gordon, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley. My grandkids, grade school age, loved this so much. This is a positive, upbeat story about a young boy accepting his unique voice and exercising it. Narrated by the author and perfect for youngsters. Thank you to Tyler Gordon, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own....more
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