A review by erine
Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution by Gretchen Woelfle

4.0

A collection of short biographies of African Americans who lived during the American Revolutionary period. Some of these people were enslaved, others free; some fought for the British, and others were Patriots; some lived out their lives in the United States and others emigrated to Sierra Leone. A unique effort to portray African Americans as a diverse group instead of as a monolithic entity. I found this to be very successful in creating dynamic portraits of each of the thirteen people. It really drove home the idea that there have been multitudes published about the founding fathers and other Revolutionary actors, but the contributions of African Americans during this time period are often relegated to footnotes or a few sparse sentences.