First published 1986
Julius Lester presents the voices of formerly enslaved people who describe their experiences in bondage. These men and women speak directly about being owned as property, bought and sold like furniture or livestock. They recall the daily realities of forced labor, family separations, and physical punishment. Their testimonies reveal what it meant to live without freedom, to have no control over their own bodies or destinies. Lester provides historical context that frames these personal accounts within the broader system of American slavery. Tom Feelings contributes paintings that accompany the narratives. The book allows readers to hear authentic voices from this period rather than secondhand interpretations. These firsthand accounts create an immediate connection between contemporary readers and people who endured enslavement. The combination of direct testimony and historical framework shows both individual suffering and systemic oppression. Through these personal stories, the book demonstrates how slavery affected real human beings rather than treating the subject as abstract history.
Genres: history, 20th-century, african-american, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, personal-narrative
Setting: America
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
Mass Market Paperback · Scholastic
Content warnings: slavery