Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Barracoon: The Story of the Last Slave by Zora Neale Hurston

19 reviews

relf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

The story of one of the last enslaved people to arrive in the U.S. from Africa, on the Clotilda, in 1859, told mostly in his own words as transcribed by Zora Neale Hurston. Kossulo (American name Cudjo Lewis) was born about 1841 in what is now Benin, captured by the king of Dahomey, sold to a (by then illegal) slave trader, and smuggled to Mobile, Alabama. He was enslaved for 5+ years, until the end of the Civil War, and became a founder of Mobile's Africaville. His story is horrifying and moving, and shocked me with its immediacy--I have a great-grandfather who was born about the same time as Kossulo. And his life after slavery indicates how little has changed: his life as a "free" man included, among other tragedies, the shooting of one of his sons by a sheriff and a white lawyer who defrauded him. This was one of Zora Hurston's first works, but, because she would not permit publishers to change Kossulo's dialect (as she had heard and transcribed it) into standard English, it was not published until 2018. It's a short book, and I recommend the audiobook, beautifully and movingly narrated by Robin Miles.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Racism, and Slavery

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.0

I thought the introduction was really interesting, but I'm not sure why I had a hard time getting into the story. It's very possible that I would like this more at a more focused time in the future. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, and Confinement

Minor: Gaslighting, Murder, Gore, Abandonment, and Genocide

kwilson2512's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Racism, and Slavery

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective

4.0

Zero sugarcoating history, just the way I like it. ZNH's conversation with Kossolo is set in a way that lets him tell his story in all its entirety, dialect and all. The narration for the audiobook felt like I was talking to him directly. It was rough to get through a lot of parts because of the themes but that is the nature of the entire story. Discomfort ought to be expected, and it is important for readers to deal with the discomfort. A definite recommend for anyone looking to pick up an important non-fiction for Black History Month.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Child death, Violence, and Grief

tinyflame4's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Slavery, and Trafficking

Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Kidnapping, Animal death, and Racism

mcfarleyems's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative fast-paced

5.0

How do you give a rating to a book as important as this one? 

This book broke my heart and took me on an important and informative journey. I learned so much about Kossula’s life, of course, but I also learned to sit in the discomfort of reading the book. I became aware of my own blind spots in history, which contributed to my own biases. Being able to read this book is a gift. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, and Racism

Moderate: Child death

pinkalpaca's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Death, Child death, Genocide, Murder, Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, Confinement, and Grief

lindsayerin's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Slavery, Child death, Death, Grief, and Trafficking

mktaylor15's review against another edition

informative sad medium-paced

4.0

A very important anthropological piece that not only gives insight into the last ex-enslaved person from the last slave ship but also in to the beginnings of Zora Neale Hurston's career

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Body horror, and Slavery

Minor: Police brutality and Murder

flowrchild's review against another edition

informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racial slurs, and Racism