Reviews

the day I was born by Eugene Richards

ashley7175's review

4.0

I don't normally read nonfiction, but the way the author weaves his amazing photographs along with the snippets of oral interviews drew me in right away! It really opens a window to the history and people of this area.

justagirlwithabook's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Oral histories matter. 

The best part about being a school librarian is working with history teachers that know the value of this and continue to work towards building a curriculum that tells stories, that shares truths, and that lifts voices.

“the day I was born,” by photographer, writer, and filmmaker Eugene Richards, is an oral history collection from Earle, Arkansas and tells the history of this small town through oral histories and photographs from the Arkansas Delta.

Earle, Arkansas has a history of Civil Rights Movement activism and violent white resistance, and through the interconnected stories of Jospeh Perry, Jr., Stacy Abram, Jackie Greer, Lovell Davis, Jessie Mae Maples, and Timothy Way, we learn about the build up to the riot that took place on September 10th and 11th, 1970 (the Earle Race Riot), and its aftermath. But their stories don’t only touch on the riot; they discuss systemic racism, poverty, Black history, abuse, and identity, struggles from “a little out-of-the-way place that most people haven’t heard anything about.”

To say the very least, these stories are powerful and leave an impression. Do some research and invest in your own local and regional oral histories when and where you can; these voices are invaluable and should be treasured.

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I was gifted this book through the Zinn Education Project and a very generous donor who made this book freely available to teachers and librarians who want to use the book for Arkansas history, U.S. history, and/or approaches to oral history.