Woelfle, Gretchen. Answering The Cry For Freedom.

Woelfle, Gretchen.  Answering The Cry For Freedom.  Boyd’s Mills/Calkins Creek  2016  238p   $18.95  ISBN 978-1-62979-306-1     ms/jr            Collective biography  E-BN

Thirteen important African American figures who were fighting against slavery at the time of the American Revolution are profiled in this excellent illustrated history book. We meet such colorful characters as Jarena Lee, a house slave who gave up her family and home to travel widely preaching against slavery, Philadelphia’s own Richard Allen, who founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Sally Hemings, who succumbed to Thomas Jefferson’s every whim in exchange for her children’s future freedom.  Each chapter includes dates of birth and death, biographical details, and stories that have come down through the ages about these larger-than-life individuals who paved the way for the Abolitionist Movement and the Underground Railroad. The type is large and easy-to-read for middle-school and even elementary students, but the information will appeal to all ages, even adults. There is a lot to learn in these pages.  The book also includes extensive research notes, a good bibliography, citation information, and guides for further research on each freedom fighter.  The illustrations are subtle and enhance the text, done in black-and-white drawings by Gregory Christie.  This one is a must-have for public and school libraries, even those serving older kids, because the information is so compelling and is largely unknown by most readers.     

Summary: Thirteen important African American figures who were fighting against slavery at the time of the American Revolution are profiled in this excellent illustrated history book.      

African Americans                                                                                                      —Carol Kennedy

Port Chicago 50.

Sheinkin, Steve.  Port Chicago 50.  Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press  2014 193p  $19.99  ISBN 978-1-59643-796-8  ms/hs  Nonfiction  E-BN

This book depicts an astounding event that changed the course of American history.  Steve Sheinkin believes he stumbled on the Port Chicago 50 accidentally while researching another book; readers will think he was meant to tell the story of a group of African Americans that was treated unfairly by the U. S. Navy, for he tells the story with an excellent narrative writing style and organizational ability.  Assigned to load bombs and other explosive materials at Port Charles, a group of African Americans had the courage to stand up for their rights after a huge explosion killed more than 300 men.  Many refused to work after the explosion, challenging the commands of their white superiors.  They were wrongfully blamed for causing a mutiny, especially Joe Small, the alleged ringleader.  Under conditions that would have broken lesser men, the Port Chicago 50 endured defeat in a trial at the hands of a segregated navy who convinced itself that its way was the right way.  Without the determination of the fifty, the support they received from young lawyer Thurgood Marshall, and advocates such as Eleanor Roosevelt, family members and other groups like the NAACP, these fifty might have remained in jail and been afforded a negative place in history.  Instead, they retained their dignity, never giving up despite untold unfair conditions and bigotry. 

All great movements -- in this case, the civil rights movement – have precursors.   This story is enhanced by powerful quotations and photographs which, when combined with Sheinkin’s attention to detail, add a new voice to American history.                  

Summary: This book depicts an astounding event that changed the course of American history, the story of the Port Chicago 50.  Assigned to load bombs and other explosive materials at Port Charles, a group of African Americans had the courage to stand up for their rights after an explosion killed more than 300 men, and endured defeat in the navy trial that followed, paving the way for the nascent Civil Rights Movement.    

Civil rights, African Americans                 -–Martha Squaresky