Answering the Cry for Freedom

[Mariel]

When considering the book, this was what struck us: The book tells the stories of 13 African Americans who lived in the Revolutionary era in an unforgettable way, and with sound scholarship. The author says that the ideas of liberty and equality "were as contagious as smallpox," and spread to include slaves. Christianity and the church were important in the lives of Revolutionary War era African Americans. There are examples of courage, friendship, faith. The stories are exciting; although they tell of some of the unfair circumstances some of these people experienced, they rose above it and fought for freedom, and that's what impressed us.

Thank you, Leslie. I appreciate that.

[MommyB2008]

The Advisory have added a book, which is scheduled across Years 4, 5, and 6 (or Groups Form 2). If you've already started your school year and can't afford another book to your budget, it's fine to pick it up later and catch up. If your library ends up with a copy (when libraries are open again!) it could also be used for free reading. It's a collection of stand-alone biographies, so its scheduling can be very flexible.

Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution
By Gretchen Woelfle

It's been added to the booklists and schedules.

My oldest is just beginning Year 6.  Do you recommend I have him start at the beginning of this book and try to catch up throughout the year or just pick it up as it is currently scheduled?

[lklivingston]

My oldest is just beginning Year 6.  Do you recommend I have him start at the beginning of this book and try to catch up throughout the year or just pick it up as it is currently scheduled?

I'd probably just pick it up as it is scheduled and let him read the earlier stories on his own if he chooses to.

[liseypea35]

We are in the middle of year 6, about to start term 3. Is this book important enough I should get it and schedule it for this term? (This extra reading would not over load my student).

[lklivingston]

That's really your choice.

[OscarL]

We are almost to term two of year 6 and I just choose to read it aloud to all the kids. It's not a perfect year-fit since my younger kids are year 2 but so far it's not been anything inappropriate for my 7 yr olds (or 4 y.o ) to hear . We just started it yesterday.

[RebeccaK]

I bought this book and was excited to include it in our school, but I will be returning the book after reading just the introduction. Maybe the stories are good, but the introduction was included as part of the curriculum. Here is a quote from the introduction: "In 1775, when the American revolution began and colonist took up arms to free themselves from British rule, slavery existed in everyone of the 13 colonies. In 1776 when the founding father signed the declaration of independence, declaring that "all men" were entitled to "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness," they didn't really mean everyone." Huh. I got on here to see if other parents had felt the same way I did, and learned from another gal that this book was recommended by the Zinn education project,  which after looking into that organization, really confirms the bias I was feeling this book has.

[SuzukiSchool]

Is the statement untrue or incorrect?

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[amerebreath]

I bought this book and was excited to include it in our school, but I will be returning the book after reading just the introduction. Maybe the stories are good, but the introduction was included as part of the curriculum. Here is a quote from the introduction: "In 1775, when the American revolution began and colonist took up arms to free themselves from British rule, slavery existed in everyone of the 13 colonies. In 1776 when the founding father signed the declaration of independence, declaring that "all men" were entitled to "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness," they didn't really mean everyone." Huh. I got on here to see if other parents had felt the same way I did, and learned from another gal that this book was recommended by the Zinn education project,  which after looking into that organization, really confirms the bias I was feeling this book has.

The fact that Zinn recommends it doesn’t automatically make it bad. It’s quite true that not all of the founding fathers meant black Americans when they agreed to sign that document. 

I have pre-read the entire book and I’m quite thankful for it. It isn’t a book written against white people. It’s a book which faithfully tells some of the stories which don’t usually get told. It’s quite well done.

It does leave you with a lot of things to think about. This is very good and very important-especially in the days of “cancel culture.” We shouldn’t just leave our children in the dark with regard to the failings of our past. But we should walk with them through it and process it with them. That’s why I’m planning to read it with my daughter this year.

I’d strongly encourage you to read more than the introduction before judging the book. I think perhaps you’ve misinterpreted it because of some faulty assumptions.

[RebeccaK]

Thanks for the response -- I didn't think the book was anti-white people, and I'm not afraid to discuss racial issues or look at both sides of history. I just felt though that the author was being a bit misleading -- making it sounds like absolutely none of the founding fathers believed what they wrote (why would they have wrote it that way then, especially since no other country had declared such a thing?) or that in 1775 everyone agreed slavery was legal and right (several groups were already starting to try to abolish or discourage slavery, even before 1775, and eventually the colonies became so divided on this issue, they fought a war over it). I feel in our "cancel-culture" we have become quick to say "America is bad and it's founders were evil men" and I don't love that interpretation of history -- I think it's much more complex than that. I briefly thumbed through some of the stories and I thought about keeping it and just skipping the parts that seemed biased, but since I bought the book (and it was $20), I'll probably still just return it and read some other biographies on people like Phyllis Wheatley.