Four Hundred Souls
A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
Ratings13
Average rating4.5
15
A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
Ratings13
Average rating4.5
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A chorus of extraordinary voices tells the epic story of the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present—edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire. FINALIST FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post, Town & Country, Ms. magazine, BookPage, She Reads, BookRiot, Booklist • “A vital addition to [the] curriculum on race in America . . . a gateway to the solo works of all the voices in Kendi and Blain’s impressive choir.”—The Washington Post “From journalist Hannah P. Jones on Jamestown’s first slaves to historian Annette Gordon-Reed’s portrait of Sally Hemings to the seductive cadences of poets Jericho Brown and Patricia Smith, Four Hundred Souls weaves a tapestry of unspeakable suffering and unexpected transcendence.”—O: The Oprah Magazine The story begins in 1619—a year before the Mayflower—when the White Lion disgorges “some 20-and-odd Negroes” onto the shores of Virginia, inaugurating the African presence in what would become the United States. It takes us to the present, when African Americans, descendants of those on the White Lion and a thousand other routes to this country, continue a journey defined by inhuman oppression, visionary struggles, stunning achievements, and millions of ordinary lives passing through extraordinary history. Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume “community” history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics. They approach history from various perspectives: through the eyes of towering historical icons or the untold stories of ordinary people; through places, laws, and objects. While themes of resistance and struggle, of hope and reinvention, course through the book, this collection of diverse pieces from ninety different minds, reflecting ninety different perspectives, fundamentally deconstructs the idea that Africans in America are a monolith—instead it unlocks the startling range of experiences and ideas that have always existed within the community of Blackness. This is a history that illuminates our past and gives us new ways of thinking about our future, written by the most vital and essential voices of our present.
Reviews with the most likes.
I would have definitely added this book to my tbr anyway because it has Dr. Kendi's name attached to it, but it was the whole concept of a collection of Black voices coming together to create a community history that captured my attention immediately and I was so happy when I received the ARC.
In a way, this is like a follow up or companion to the 1619 project because that is the year the history in this book starts, with the tale of the first 20 or so Black people who were brought to the shores of this land, with the author wondering what must they have been feeling about their situation as well as their new home. From there, each writer focuses on a five year period, talking about something that they found significant about that particular time period in history - whether it be a movement or rebellion that was crushed and erased from our collective memory, or a prominent Black voice of the time, or many other rebels and pioneers who paved the way for their future freedoms even if they have been forgotten by history.
The book or project (as it should rightfully be called) is epic and ambitious, but the execution is perfect. Through poems and essays and profiles and testimonies, these 90 Black intellectuals from various fields come together to create such a wonderful volume of history that speaks to the feeling of community. The writing will make you angry and hopeful and emotional, and I ended up crying a few times. Sometimes, it also leaves you feeling sad because there's so much that is lost to history, and how much we don't know about the African American ancestors who suffered horribly for decades and centuries. This book is in a way a tribute to them, making us aware of how they fought for the right to be treated equally, and also motivate us to continue the fight till true equality is achieved.
The book ends with a final essay by Alicia Garza about the Black Lives Matter movement and it felt like a fitting conclusion - a lot of strides have been made on the path to achieve the true ideals enshrined in the constitution but a lot is left to do, as all the BLM protests in 2020 and the recent insurrection on the capitol have shown. This community history is an inspiration and I hope it encourages many more of us to fight for a fair and just world.
Protect this book at all costs.
I've already put in an order for the physical copy. Will be a re-read. Will have to read slowly and notate galore.
Just WOW. A wealth of knowledge.
I'm not sure what the aim of this book is. It is made up of 400 years of history, divided into 5-year chunks, giving us 80 short essays and other pieces, interspersed by poems.
I definitely learned things. I heard from authors with perspectives and backgrounds different from mine, which was incredibly valuable. I learned about events in our history I never would learn in school. There were cultural references I did not understand, but that spurred me to do additional research.
The quality and interest of the pieces varied, as you'd expect with 80 different authors. It isn't a book you'll read from cover to cover, but was good for digesting in chunks here and there.
This is one of those books that needs to be read several times.
Everyone should read it.
