African Town

African Town

YA poetry nonfiction based narrative
I have learned more genuine (not white washed) American history
from YA literature (both fiction and nonfiction) than I was taught in
my entire public school career. Irene Latham and Charles' African
Town was a sure fire wake up call. Did you know that over half a
century after importing slaves was made illegal one last ship
successfully did just that? Worse yet, 110 people were kidnapped
from home, family, and homeland to win a bet.
The year was 1859. Moneyed men had gathered on a ship for
drinks and dinner. They were angry because Congress hadn't reopened
the international slave trade. How were they supposed to turn a
profit without free labor? Most of the men were afraid to try
smuggling in slaves; one wasn't.
"'Gentlemen,' I say, my voice ominous as a windless sky.
'I'll wage you all a thousand dollars
that I can smuggle a good number of slaves back
to Mobile without the authorities knowing about it.'"
That was a lot of money back then. You'd better believe his peers
took him up on that!
African Town, narrated skillfully in free verse, covers an
ambitious timeline. Starting with that fatefull soirée, it goes up
through 1901. It features an ensemble cast of whites, Blacks,
priviliged and oppressed people, free people and slaves, males and
females sharing their experiences and perspectives. Even the ship,
the Clotilde, has her say.
But there are five stars, all enslaved Africans whom readers
will get to know more intimately:
*Kossola, a soldier, working toward being initiated into his
religion's highest order;
*Kehounco, a teen kidnapped right after her sister's wedding;
*Kupollee, who keeps careful track of the details of the group's
experiences;
*Gumpa, who is kidnapped because of tribal political rivalry;
and *Abile, a home sick 15-year-old.
The authors faced a formidable challenge in inculcating
authenticity and individuality in their characters rather than
invoking stereotypes given such a large caste. They handled it
beautifully. The characters, especially the featured ones, come to
life on the page. This is a truly engaging and enlightening narrative.
On a purrrsonal note, long term readers may have noticed a decided
drop in my output. It was truly unintended. Monday the 2nd I woke up
feeling really sick. Eugene was at camp. It was finals week. I
still had a group project and a paper due. I got them done on time.
But I just kept getting worse and worse. When Eugene returned
Thursday I asked him to take me to an urgent care. I ended up St.
Joseph's Hospital for four days, getting discharged on Sunday. I had
an infection and a kidney stone. (Jules)
I missed her soooo much!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the dedicated professionals of St.
Joseph's, especially the nurses.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway




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