Recommended Reading List - Exploring the Origins of Slavery

For those who wish to educate themselves about the origins of slavery and the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, here are some recommended readings. This list is a work in progress; please contact cvillewinneba@gmail.com if you have any suggested additions. 


Top Suggestions: 

Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing: https://www.amazon.com/Homegoing-Yaa-Gyasi/dp/1101971061 

Hugh Thomas, The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440-1870: http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Slave-Trade/Hugh-Thomas/9780684835655 

Charles Johnson, Middle Passage - A well-researched novel, gives the sense of the horrible voyage from freedom to slavery: https://www.amazon.com/Middle-Passage-Charles-Johnson/dp/0684855887



Other Recommended Books (in no particular order): 

Madeleine Burnside and Cornel West, Spirits of the Passage: The Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Seventeenth Century: https://www.amazon.com/Spirits-Passage-Madeline-Burnside/dp/0684818191 

Bayo Holsey, Routes of Remembrance: Refashioning the Slave Trade in Ghana - Discusses contemporary memory (and suppression of memory, family shame, guilt) of slavery and slaving in Ghana, how slavery and the slave trade is taught in schools (or isn't--interesting comparison to U.S.), how the tourism industry markets these sites to foreigners, what locals think of the slave forts (mostly shrug) and the "rich foreigners" (including African Americans) who visit these museums, the emotions that U.S. black heritage tourists bring to these slave forts (collective historical trauma, but also "I'm back in the motherland"): https://www.amazon.com/Routes-Remembrance-Refashioning-Slave-Trade/dp/0226349764

Daniel Mannix, Black Cargoes: A History of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1518-1865: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Cargoes-Daniel-P-Mannix/dp/0140042539

Adam Hochschild, Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves: https://www.amazon.com/Bury-Chains-Prophets-Rebels-Empires/dp/0618619070

Caryl Phillips, The Atlantic Sound: https://www.amazon.com/Atlantic-Sound-Caryl-Phillips/dp/0375701036

Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave: https://www.amazon.com/12-Years-Slave-Solomon-Northup/dp/1631680021 (basis for the 2013 movie of the same name)

Terry Alford, Prince Among Slaves - Fascinating book about a Muslim African prince who was university educated, but captured and sold into slavery and later recognized by a ship captain who had known his father. It is an account of his slavery, and life before he was captured. Based on actual events: https://www.amazon.com/Prince-among-Slaves-Terry-Alford/dp/019532045X

Simon Schama, Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Crossings-Britain-American-Revolution/dp/006053916X

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: https://www.amazon.com/Incidents-Life-Slave-Harriet-Jacobs/dp/1499529007 

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart: https://www.amazon.com/Things-Fall-Apart-Chinua-Achebe/dp/0385474547

Edmund Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom - A must-read classic in the field, and includes fascinating details about Virginia in particular: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/American-Slavery-American-Freedom/

Edward Ball, Slaves in the Family - Explores the complex issue of how to grapple with the history and legacy of slavery in one family, and the range of perspectives and deeply personal feelings that still impact people long after slavery as a legal status was ended. And that might be the point - years may have passed, but slavery hasn't faded into the past. It's still with us: https://www.amazon.com/Slaves-Family-Edward-Ball/dp/0374534454

Lucia Cinder Stanton, Those Who Labor for My Happiness: Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello: https://www.amazon.com/Those-Who-Labor-Happiness-Jeffersonian/dp/0813932238 

Alex Haley, Roots: The Saga of an American Family: https://www.amazon.com/Roots-American-Family-Alex-Haley/dp/030682485X

Tom Feelings, The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo: https://www.amazon.com/Middle-Passage-White-Ships-Black/dp/0803718047

Lerone Bennett, Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America - A comprehensive history of Africans in America starting on the continent: https://www.amazon.com/Before-Mayflower-History-Black-America/dp/0874850002

Kevin Gaines, American Africans in Ghana: Black Expatriates and the Civil Rights Era: https://www.amazon.com/American-Africans-Ghana-Expatriates-Franklin/dp/0807858935

Paul Lovejoy and Toyin Falola, Pawnship, Slavery, and Colonialism in Africa - This extensive text answers the questions about what people call slavery on the continent but shows that it is nothing close to chattel slavery America had: https://books.google.com/books/about/Pawnship_Slavery_and_Colonialism_in_Afri.html?id=8o_EAAAAIAAJ&source=kp_cover

S.E. Anderson, The Black Holocaust for Beginners - This book is short. Has sketches. Gives numbers. Shows the torture. Easy to read. Still powerful. And not too expensive: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Holocaust-Beginners-S-Anderson/dp/193438903X


Additional Resources: 

“An African Country Reckons with its History of Selling Slaves,” Washington Post, 1/29/18: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/an-african-country-reckons-with-its-history-of-selling-slaves/2018/01/29/5234f5aa-ff9a-11e7-86b9-8908743c79dd_story.html?utm_term=.1d0894d76bc8 

“A Slow Emancipation,” Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times Magazine, 3/18/17 - Eminent African-American public intellectual (whose father is Ghanaian) wrote this re: his own family history/shame over enslaved forebears in their lineage, which, though common, is a taboo topic in Ghana: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/magazine/18WWLNlede.t.html

“History of American Slavery” podcast by Jamelle Bouie et al.: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/history-of-american-slavery-slate-academy-preview/id1001688569?mt=2

“Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North” - movie (available on DVD at Jefferson-Madison Regional Library): http://www.tracesofthetrade.org/synopsis/ 

“Sankofa” – movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108041/


** note: the links here to amazon.com and other sites are for informational purposes only, please patronize your local bookstores and local libraries wherever possible! **