The problem is that this book was published in the context of Texas getting textbooks around the nation rewritten to show slavery in a positive light (calling slaves ‘migrant workers’, for one thing). And there is a general move by many to whitewash the horrors of slavery...and Jim Crow and the pernicious legacy of…
LuckPushedMeFirst
luckpushedmefirst
Of course slaves had moments of happiness in their lives; I’m sure that there were moments of beauty and love that come under duress that are hard to imagine. A book about slaves experiencing happiness would be okay and probably extremely inspiring— finding joy and love in times of darkness would be a powerful book,…
Wow, even that was bullshit huh. 4 years researching it my ass.
The fact that Hercules and Delia are cheesing is the least of it.
I am sure some slaves did take pleasure in their master’s happiness. If Stockholm Syndrome can happen to people who have only been captive for a short time, how much worse would it be for someone who was born into captivity? Someone who might even be the child or sibling of their master as well as a slave? It is…
“To pretend that slaves were never happy or never had a good day or never smiled is to deny them a basic part of their humanity. [...] young children aren’t necessarily ready to understand that, but some people act like showing a slave smiling is like jumping head first onto a slippery slope straight back to Uncle…
“Fuck ‘yo cake.”
Sometimes I think people forget that just because the beauty of our humanity means one can find a way mentally to escape misery by any means necessary, is not the same as us needing to celebrate the very thing that made the misery and the escapism, a reality.
And I’m sure there were moments of fleeting happiness in the concentration camps of Germany, the gulags of Siberia, etc. etc.
Hercules was most likely not super amped about baking George Washington a birthday cake since he actually ran away on Washington’s birthday.
But this doesn’t appear to be a book about Black people who happened to be slaves, living their day to day lives, experiencing diverse human emotions. This appears to be a book about good guy George Washington, told through the eyes of his slaves. That’s not right.
I can see the point that young children aren’t necessarily ready to understand that...
A slave who smiles at his child or looks happily at a blue sky is a different thing from “the only thing that put a smile on Hercules’ face was when Lady Washington walked into the kitchen” (approximate quote). The book shows slaves taking pleasure in their masters’ happiness as if that was their purpose in life. It’s…
Seriously. It’s like making a children’s book about any of the times there was a ceasefire in a war because it was Christmas or whatever. Yes. It’s weird to think both sides just put down their weapons and chilled together, then started slaughtering each other again the next day. But they were just people, many of…
It’s a shame, I guess “The Little Injun That Could” set during the Trail of Tears just won’t work in this pc climate.
To pretend that slaves were never happy or never had a good day or never smiled is to deny them a basic part of their humanity. That some were friendly with or even loved their masters is undeniable.
Can’t wait for Ganeshram’s next story about those great blankets the white man gave the Native Americans.
I violently love period dramas, especially those of the British variety... but *groan* stop romanticizing the Old South already
When I read the title and saw the image with it, my traumatized mind took a trip back to US History class in high school, when my hungover teacher was like watch this very good movie about the Civil War! It’s educational!