“The Revisioners” by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton tells the story of two Black women dealing with racial tension during different time periods. Josephine’s story jumps back and forth between her enslavement as a child and being a free woman with grown children in the post Civil War years. As an adult, Jospehine married a man with whom she was able to acquire some property and achieve financial independence though it later sparks jealousy in White neighbors who are less fortunate. Ava is a biracial woman raising her son as a single mother in present-day New Orleans. She’s experienced some setbacks and in hopes of improving her financial situation to offer her son a better life, Ava agrees to move in with her White grandmother. While loving at times, her grandmother is a study in microaggressions and has episodes that hint at the prejudiced views she held and could more openly express in her younger years.
Noire Histoir Posts
If you’re interested in learning about the Baptist preacher who planned the 1831 rebellion that contributed to the abolition of slavery in Jamaica, then my Samuel Sharpe Black History Facts profile is for you.
“American Gangster” is a 2007 crime drama set in the 1970s that tells the story of the Harlem kingpin, Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts, the police officer intent on bringing him down. But unlike many other films, “American Gangster” doesn’t just focus on the glitz and glam of being a crime boss but also touches on the real-life consequences and drawbacks of the lifestyle.
If you’re interested in learning about the founder of a private Chicago elementary school who developed methods to educate children who had been labeled unteachable, then my Marva Collins Black History Facts profile is for you.
“Island on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire” by Tom Zoellner recounts Samuel Sharpe’s rebellion in Jamaica and how it led to the abolishment of slavery. The book delves into the structure of Jamaica’s system of slavery and the experiences of the enslaved. There’s an in-depth explanation of Jamaican society with regard to culture but there’s also the island’s economics.