Slavery, Narratives
In 1860, slavery in America was older than the country itself. At that time, nearly four million black people were slaves in the United States. Slavery's morality was rarely publicly questioned. A small but determined few began an anti-slavery movement that would eventually change the face of the nation.In taking on slavery, abolitionists fought a deeply ingrained system of slavery. Learn about the hidden force of the Underground Railroad, how slavery divided a nation, the path to war, and the experiences of determined men and women black and white, such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The early African-American struggle for equality created a starting point for a system of justice in American society -- Freedom Struggle is the story.
When Granny Judith asks twelve-year-old Christmas John to row Molly, cook's daughter, across the river from Kentucky to the Free State of Ohio, he's terrified. Bravely, he begins the first of many journeys. Each time he returns, Granny Judith asks what color clothing his passenger wore, for she's had a dream-vision and is making a quilt from squares of these "freedom colors." When there are only two squares left, she tells him, "Dream says we got to get ourselves over the river, 'cause the danger's gonna grow awful."
This compelling story, powerfully and poignantly illustrated, is a memorable celebration of courage, hope, and unselfish love. "Night Boat to Freedom" is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
This compelling story, powerfully and poignantly illustrated, is a memorable celebration of courage, hope, and unselfish love. "Night Boat to Freedom" is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Taut free verse tells the little-known story of the first contraband camp of the Civil War--seen by some historians as the "beginning of the end of slavery in America." One night in 1861, three escaped slaves made their way from the Confederate line to a Union-held fort. The runaways were declared "contraband of war" and granted protection. As word spread, thousands of runaway slaves poured into the fort, seeking their freedom. These "contrabands" made a home for themselves, building the first African American community in the country. In 1863, they bore witness to one of the first readings of the Emancipation Proclamation in the South--beneath the sheltering branches of the tree now known as Emancipation Oak.