Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

 

I've had Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston on my radar for quite sometime. I finally decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston and narrated by Robin Miles for Black History Month.

I am so happy that I finally listened to Barracoon as this work of nonfiction is of historical significance and an engaging listen. While listening to Barracoon, I discovered that Zora Neale Hurston was also an anthropologist as well as the popular writer we know today. She interviewed Cudjo Lewis, one of the last known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade from Africa, in 1927 and again in 1931.

Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston is a short listen at 3 hours, 50 minutes and is extremely well narrated by Robin Miles. It was edited by Deborah G. Plant, which is where we learn a lot of background information about Zora Neale Hurston and Barracoon.

Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston was written last century, but wasn't published until 2018 as Hurston was unable to find a publisher willing to accept the manuscript as she wrote it, which used Cudjo Lewis's own particular 'vernacular' throughout. 

I am happy that Barracoon was published in its original format. It was also interesting to learn that it became illegal to import slaves from Africa to America in the early 1800s. YET, there were still ships illegally bringing over slaves from Africa to America for decades! It so happened that Cudjo Lewis was brought over on one such ship named the Clotilda. Cudjo Lewis remembers his life in Africa, his capture, his voyage to America, and life afterwards in America as a slave and then a free man. We learn about all of this and more in great detail in Barracoon. I also liked the appendix which shares some traditional African games and stories/folktales.

Below is the summary for Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston from the Chirp website:

A major literary event: a never-before-published work from the author of the American classic Their Eyes Were Watching God that brilliantly illuminates the horror and injustices of slavery as it tells the true story of one of the last known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade—abducted from Africa on the last “Black Cargo” ship to arrive in the United States.

In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation’s history. Hurston was there to record Cudjo’s firsthand account of the raid that led to his capture and bondage fifty years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in the United States.

In 1931, Hurston returned to Plateau, the African-centric community three miles from Mobile founded by Cudjo and other former slaves from his ship. Spending more than three months there, she talked in depth with Cudjo about the details of his life. During those weeks, the young writer and the elderly formerly enslaved man ate peaches and watermelon that grew in the backyard and talked about Cudjo’s past—memories from his childhood in Africa, the horrors of being captured and held in a barracoon for selection by American slavers, the harrowing experience of the Middle Passage packed with more than 100 other souls aboard the Clotilda, and the years he spent in slavery until the end of the Civil War.

Based on those interviews, featuring Cudjo’s unique vernacular, and written from Hurston’s perspective with the compassion and singular style that have made her one of the preeminent American authors of the twentieth-century, Barracoon brilliantly illuminates the tragedy of slavery and of one life forever defined by it. Offering insight into the pernicious legacy that continues to haunt us all, black and white, this poignant and powerful work is an invaluable contribution to our shared history and culture.

I am giving Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Top Ten NonFiction Books I Want to Read In Honor of Black History Month

Do you like reading specific books for Black History Month, Women's History Month, National Poetry Month, Asian History Month, National American Indian Heritage Month, Banned Books Week, and so on? I do occasionally like to read specific books during these timeframes to expand my reading horizons.

Below are the top ten nonfiction books I would like to read in honor of Black History Month:

1. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

2. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

3. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

4. Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

5. Surviving The White Gaze by Rebecca Carroll

6. Women, Race, & Class by Angela Y. Davis

7. A Promised Land by Barack Obama

8. Feminism Is for Everybody by Bell Hooks

9. This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins

10. Wandering In Strange Lands by Morgan Jerkins

Have you read any of the above nonfiction books? If so, let me know which books you've read from the above list and what you thought about the book(s) you read in the comment section below!!

Books I Read For Black History Month

 

I read a total of seven books for Black History Month in 2021 as follows:

1. Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief by Doris Payne

2. The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos

3. Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington

4. March (Trilogy Slipcase Edition) by John Lewis

5. African American Athletes Who Made History by Louis Moore

Did you read any specific books for Black History Month? If so, share what you read in the comment section below. 

African American Athletes Who Made History by Louis Moore

 

I listened to the unabridged audio of African American Athletes Who Made History by Louis Moore, which is part of The Great Courses series and narrated by Louis Moore during Black History Month this year.

Listening time for African American Athletes Who Made History by Louis Moore is 4 hours, 19 minutes.

I learned so much through listening to African American Athletes Who Made History by Louis Moore! I highly recommend this audio version of The Great Courses as we not only learn about African American athletes from the 1800s through present day, but also about the racism and discrimination these athletes endured as well. 

For instance, I learned what a HUGE role African Americans played in the early days of horse racing when it was one of America's most popular sports. For instance, did you know that 13 of the 15 jockeys in the first Kentucky Derby were African Americans? Additionally, African American jockeys won 15 of the first 28 Kentucky Derbies. There's so much to share on the topic of African Americans in early horse racing in America that one could make an entire blog post on this very topic alone... And this was only one of the many fascinating topics discussed in African American Athletes Who Made History by Louis Moore.

I also enjoyed learning about black athletes during the Civil Rights Movement, the revolt of the black athlete, a more in depth look at major athletes like Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, and Joe Louis... As well as the topic of black athletes and endorsements, and black athletes as activists in the 21st century.

Below is a summary for African American Athletes Who Made History by Louis Moore from Amazon:

Professor Louis Moore’s audiobook about the history of African Americans in sports in the United States educates listeners about the fascinating social and cultural history of the nation. For example, integration of major league and professional sports broke a major color barrier for one of the first times in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement. African American athletes competed in America long before the 20th century - in fact, they even competed during the years of slavery.

• Boxer Tom Molineaux, who fought for the entertainment of slave masters, went on to earn his freedom, and then became a professional fighter and trainer
• Champion boxer Jack Johnson
• High jumper Rose Robinson
• Track star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens
• Baseball legend Jackie Robinson
• Decathlon gold-medalist Rafer Johnson
• The first female African American Olympians, Tidye Picket and Louise Stokes

Hear how the struggles and triumphs of these and other African American sports stars opened doors for professional players who came to dominate their fields, including Serena Williams and Michael Jordan. Learn about the founding of Black sports leagues during the years of segregation, how the Great Migration reshaped athletics in America, and how African American athletes balanced their athletic success with the everyday reality of racism and became engines of social change. While sports helped level the playing field in many ways, Black athletes still grapple with the legacy of inequality in America today.

I am giving African American Athletes Who Made History by Louis Moore a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington

I listened to the unabridged audio version of Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington and narrated by Noah Waterman this month for Black History Month. 

Listening time for Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington is 6 hours, 8 minutes.

I have a long list of books I would like to read in order to learn more about black history, but I must truthfully admit that Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington was a surprise reading choice for me as I had never really thought about reading this book until this year. 

I learned though Wikipedia the following about Up From Slavery and Booker T. Washington himself:

Washington was a controversial figure in his own lifetime, and W. E. B. Du Bois, among others, criticized some of his views. The book was a best-seller, and remained the most popular African American autobiography until that of Malcolm X.[2] In 1998, the Modern Library listed the book at No. 3 on its list of the 100 best nonfiction books of the 20th century, and in 1999 it was also listed by the conservative Intercollegiate Review as one of the "50 Best Books of the Twentieth Century".[3]

I enjoyed reading about Booker T. Washington's life through reading his memoir, Up From Slavery. I am enormously impressed with his extremely humble beginnings to becoming a highly educated, mover and shaker, educator and orator and so much more through hard work, discipline, and perseverance. Booker T. Washington definitely shows us that by having a vision and going after what one wants in life, you can achieve and overcome just about anything you set your mind out to do.

Booker T. Washington earned an honorary master's degree from Harvard University, was well respected about both whites and blacks, built the Tuskegee Institute, traveled widely across the US and around Europe, and succeeded in building strong relationships with influential people during his lifetime to highlight but a few of so many wonderful achievements he earned.

Below is a summary for Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington from Goodreads:

Booker T. Washington fought his way out of slavery to become an educator, statesman, political shaper, and proponent of the "do-it-yourself" idea. In his autobiography, he describes his early life as a slave on a Virginia plantation, his steady rise during the Civil War, his struggle for education, his schooling at the Hampton Institute, and his years as founder and president of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, which was devoted to helping minorities learn useful, marketable skills.

He gives an account of his travels, speeches, and meetings with various leaders, including Theodore Roosevelt in the White House. Employing a didactic tone, Washington deftly sets forth his belief that the black man’s salvation lies in education, industriousness, and self-reliance. This is the true-life story of a man of real courage and dedication.

Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915), founder of Tuskegee Institute, was a leading educator, author, and statesman who rose from slavery to become internationally famous.

I am giving Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

10 Facts About Toni Morrison

 I came across an article on Bookriot's website titled, TONI MORRISON: 10 FACTS ABOUT THE INCOMPARABLE AUTHOR by Emily Martin.

I enjoyed learning some new to me facts about Toni Morrison from Emily Martin's article and hope you too! I enjoyed the links at the end of the article to discover authors like Ms. Morrison and also a link to Ms. Morrion's list of must read authors.

Click on the link above to read the full story!

Black History Month - Misty Copeland - Principal Dancer American Ballet Company

I was blessed to see Misty Copeland dance with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in late March or early April 2012 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. She gave a fabulous performance that night!! At the time I saw Ms. Copeland dance, she was still a soloist for ABT. "On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history." (Wikipedia)

I still want to read Misty Copeland's memoir titled, Life In Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina.

Black History Month - Spotlight - Harriet Tubman

I thought the above video was informative about Harriet Tubman's life. Now I want to read a book about her life that will give me a bit more detail.