Each time a child was born in bondage; the system of slavery began anew. Although raised by their parents or by surrogates in the slave community; children were ultimately subject to the rule of their owners. Following the life cycle of a child from birth through youth to young adulthood; Marie Jenkins Schwartz explores the daunting world of slave children; a world governed by the dual authority of parent and owner; each with conflicting agendas. Despite the constant threats of separation and the necessity of submission to the slaveowner; slave families managed to pass on essential lessons about enduring bondage with human dignity. Schwartz counters the commonly held vision of the paternalistic slaveholder who determines the life and welfare of his passive chattel; showing instead how slaves struggled to give their children a sense of self and belonging that denied the owner complete control. Born in Bondage gives us an unsurpassed look at what it meant to grow up as a slave in the antebellum South. Schwartz recreates the experiences of these bound but resilient young people as they learned to negotiate between acts of submission and selfhood; between the worlds of commodity and community.
#40989 in Books Simon n Schuster 1989-11-15 1989-11-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 2.10 x 6.12l; 3.04 #File Name: 06716874251088 pagesGreat product!
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Amazing and inspiring stories of courageBy noogieAmazing and inspiring stories of courage. Though the book is thick; the author's lucid and at times rhapsodic writing makes it a fairly quick read. I've learned more about the civil rights movement from this sweeping narrative than from any video (including Eyes on the Prize; excellent as it is) or museum. It is particularly good at describing the diversity of tactics employed; the competing interests held; and the maneuvering (both public and private) carried out by various civil rights activists and members of state and federal governments.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An Amazing Tapestry of People and Events Woven by a Master StorytellerBy James M. BairdTaylor Branch; in this first volume of his Civil Rights era chronicle; admirably fulfills a writer's twin duties of telling a compelling story while managing a vast amount of historical material. Covering the years 1954 to 1963; Branch takes the reader from movement's birth in the black Baptist churches of the South through the Eisenhower and Kennedy years; concluding with JFK's death and its aftermath. Every participant; man; woman; or child; famous or obscure; has his story told with a veteran reporter's eye for the truth. Branch has a way with words; as we can appreciate on virtually every page. Here are a couple of samples. The first discusses the FBI's extensive wiretapping of King and his associates:"That an intelligence agency in the belief that King was an enemy of freedom; ignorant of the reality that King had just set in motion the greatest firestorm of domestic liberty in a hundred years; was one of the saddest ironies of American history." (p 692)The other sample illustrates Branch's use of ironic humor:"Walker's [an organizer of the March on Washington] presentation was at once breathtaking and quixotic. It envisioned a precisely organized march into history by an organization that had taken four years to find a mimeograph machine." (p 690)Martin Luther King; Jr. and his movement were rooted in the church; as the titles of the three series' volumes (Parting the Waters; Pillar of Fire; At Canaan's Edge) which recall the Biblical journey of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land; make clear. And; as was true in the Bible; the heroes were also all-too-fallible human beings; petty and sinful; but ultimately victorious.Events today have their roots in the past. If you'd like to understand where we are in Civil Rights; this book genuinely earns its five stars. I look forward to reading the remaining two volumes.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A great history of the US Civil Rights Era.By WillardA great book chronicling the Civil Rights movement from 1955-63. So many great stories about Civil Rights legends are in this book. I didn't like the length of the book; but it was useful to help gain full understanding. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of US history in the 1950's and 60's.
