President Abraham Lincoln, in his Emancipation Proclamation, declared, “…all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State… shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free…”
The Lincoln Memorial Shrine, the Civil War museum and research center in Redlands under the auspices of A.K. Smiley Public Library, recently installed an insightful and poignant exhibit in its west wing, “…that All Men are Created Equal: Slavery in America.” Though not normally open on Mondays, we invite you to visit The Shrine and reflect on this exhibit and others this Presidents’ Day, Monday, Feb. 17, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
In our continuing observance of African American Heritage Month, in complement to this special exhibit, we will highlight here some of our new non-fiction acquisitions discussing the painful topic of enslavement of others and its legacy of continuing generational damage, challenging what it means to be ‘free.’
“I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free,” by 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist and former Wall Street Journal writer Lee Hawkins. Researching his ancestors in-depth, Hawkins looks to them for answers, spurred on by the nightmares he began experiencing in his 40s. He identifies the inheritance of violence-and resilience-that has followed his family in every generation since enslavement.
“In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World” is a collection of essays by key historians and scholars, provided by The National Museum of African American History and Culture. It is a companion book to an extensive exhibition of the museum, providing 150 illustrations of people and objects, framing the history of slavery in a global context. Discussing contemporary echoes of slavery, the authors also demonstrate how those affected have asserted and are asserting their humanity and their right to equal freedoms.
“A Plausible Man: The True Story of the Escaped Slave Who Inspired Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is authored by Susanna Ashton, a professor of English and an expert on slavery and freedom narratives. Ashton painstakingly combed obscure records to find John Andrew Jackson, a fugitive slave who was hidden by Harriet Beecher Stowe one night and inspired her novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which is thought to have sparked the United States Civil War. His story takes us through nineteenth-century America: the war, Reconstruction, and the restoration of white supremacy.
Additional related titles include:
“Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History,” 1800? – 1831, by late historian Anthony E. Kaye and collaborator Gregory P. Downs
“A Passionate Mind in Relentless Pursuit: The Vision of Mary McLeod Bethune,” 1875-1955, by Noliwe Rooks
“We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance,” by Kellie Carter Jackson
“Galveston’s Juneteenth Story: and Still We Rise,” by Tommie D. Boudreaux and the Galveston Historical Foundation
“Slavery After Slavery: Revealing the Legacy of Forced Child Apprenticeships on Black Families, from Emancipation to the Present,” by Mary Frances Berry
Look for these books and more on our ‘New Book’ shelves, or on our Black History Month display in the Library.
