emancipation

Robert Charles Dallas (1754-1824), a British writer, was born in Jamaica and returned there after an education in England and Scotland.  In the West Indies, runaway slaves who formed communities independent from white society (often with American Indians) were called “Maroons.”  Those in Jamaica – about whom Dallas provides a first-hand account of their culture and mode of life – were considered the greatest threat to British colonists due to hostilities in the 1730s and again in the 1790s.

John Bigelow (1817-1911), born into a prominent New England family, was a newspaper writer and editor at the New-York Evening Post, under the leadership of William Cullen Bryant. An opponent of slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War, Bigelow travelled to Jamaica in 1850 to study the island’s economics following the abolition of slavery. His book soundly repudiated the assertion that freed slaves were incapable of self-governance and is still considered an authoritative analysis. It has been reprinted more than once in modern times, but this is the original publication. Our

This is a new edition of Turner's original 1949 masterpiece, which was a seminal work in Afrocentric linguistics. Arranged like a dictionary, it has Gullah words on the left side of each page and the corresponding West African words on the right side. Gullah is a language spoken by the eponymous people descended from former slaves in the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia. Pioneering linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner also uses this book to discuss the distinctively Gullah way of writing.

At less than 200 pages, this small paperback book is filled with black and white photographs depicting Gullah life. Gullahs are the descendants of slaves, specifically from the Lowcountry regions of the United States, including Georgia and South Carolina. The author is from South Carolina Gullah country. This book is about roots that can be used for healing, curses, good luck, bad luck, etc. The author’s dad was the county coroner, so he is familiar with death. Folk magic permeates Gullah culture, in a way very similar to voodoo.

The book’s purpose is to take us behind-the-scenes so we can see what it’s like to grow up and live life in the Gullah community. Sayings such as “dog got four feet but can’t walk but one road” are uniquely Gullah. This translates to “you can only do one thing at a time.” The book has black adn white photos of Gullah people fishing, riding on horseback, boating, and playing music. One of the co-authors is of South CarolinaGullah heritage: Dr. Emory Campbell, President of Gullah Heritage Consulting Services.

This autobiography/memoir covers the life of abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. Its text is preceded by an introduction from Dr. John Blassingame: Yale graduate, Yale professor, and pioneer in the study of American slavery. After the text, there are about fifty pages of historical information, including book reviews written by people shortly after the autobiography was published. What makes this autobiography so significant is the fact that it was written only seven years after Douglass’ escape from slavery.

This book is only 75 pages long, but is full of valuable information about Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). It is an unabridged republication of his 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. In it, Douglass describes, in unflinching honesty, the horrors of slavery. He tells of how he watched a slave mother kill her baby with a piece of wood and saw a slave get shot to death for trespassing. His heartbreaking and disturbing tales make his own escape even more extraordinary and his calls for abolition even more passionate.

The book discusses the transatlantic partnership of the abolitionist movement by describing how Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) got an early start in the abolitionist movement overseas. His 1845 trip to what is known today as the United Kingdom changed his life forever. This book is a set of essays written by ten different scholars, professors of American and African American studies, from both the United States and the United Kingdom. 

Featuring only a few black and white photos (Frederick Douglass, a statue of Frederick Douglass, his first wife, and his second wife), this book is a masterpiece of prose. Professor Benjamin Arthur Quarles, celebrated Frederick Douglass expert, adds value to Douglass’ own three autobiographies by delving deeper into the type of man Frederick Douglass became over the years. From showing immense courage when overcoming obstacles to demonstrating poise in the face of controversy, Frederick Douglass became a hallmark to the U.S. abolitionist movement.

President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were opponents who became close friends. Although their views and methods differed, Douglass had the President’s ear and could give him advice on recruiting African Americans to win the Civil War, emancipation, and how to treat freed slaves. They met inside of the White House three times. Douglass was fortunate to congratulate Lincoln in person at his second Inaugural Ball, just six weeks before the president was assassinated. This book was written by a CUNY Graduate School history professor who specializes in slavery and the South.

This book covers the final 18 years of Frederick Douglass’ life when he lived in a mansion on top of Cedar Hill in Anacostia, a neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The author is a graduate of George Washington University, a prominent university in Washington, D.C. The book is filled with black and white pencil sketches, images, and photographs, many depicting the interior of Douglass’ home, as well as his family life.

This book is a treasure trove of color portraits and photographs depicting the life of Frederick Douglass. It is an inspiring work of art divided into ten chapters tracing the highlights of his life from slavery to full citizenship. Because it was published recently, the back of the book offers useful websites after the bibliography. Especially poignant is the image on the title page verso of a ball and chain being broken at the shackles, a very fitting image for this great man's life.

This children's book tells the story of how Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) fought his slave master and claimed his freedom from slavery. It is based on the true story of Douglass' escape from slavery and tells of how he earned the respect of the slave masters and his fellow slaves. The book features many beautiful color illustrations by Cedric Lucas, bringing to life Douglass' inspiring and enthralling story.

Fifty years in chains: or, the life of an American slave is an abridged and unauthorized 1858 reprint of the 1836 Slavery in the United States: a narrative of the life and adventures of Charles Ball... . As one of the earliest slave narratives, its influence on later works is a well-established phenomenon.

Born a slave on a Virginia farm in 1856, Booker T. Washington taught himself to read after emancipation, worked hard to fund his own education, and eventually attended the Hampton Institute. He became a prominent Black educator and an important voice on race in America during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Future of the American Negro, written by Washington in 1899, outlines his ideas on the history of enslaved and freed African American people and their need for education to advance themselves.