"The book of Negroes" whey u think?

[Seveen]

Re: "The book of Negroes" whey u think?

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[chitowngirl]

Re: "The book of Negroes" whey u think?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Seveen</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Warning, Spoiler: <input type="button" class="form-button" value="Show" onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName(' div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('d iv')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = '';this.innerText = ''; this.value = 'Hide'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('d iv')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerText = ''; this.value = 'Show'; }" /></div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div style="display: none;"></div></div></div> </div></div>
Editorial Review:
[censored] is Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy's ornate, lively monograph on what he calls the "paradigmatic" racial slur in the English language. A neutral noun in the 17th century, [censored] had, by 1830, become an "influential" insult. Kennedy traces the word's history in literature, song, film, politics, sports, everyday speech, and the courtroom. He also discusses its plastic, contradictory, and volatile place in contemporary American society. Should it be eradicated from dictionaries and the language? Should it be, somehow, regulated? What is the significance of its emergence among some blacks as a term with "undertones of warmth and good will"? Do blacks have a historical right to its use or does that place the term under a "protectionist pall"? With courage and grave measure Kennedy has, in effect, created a forum for discussion of the word he calls a "reminder of the ironies and dilemmas, the tragedies and glories, of the American experience." -- H. O'Billovitch -- This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author:

Randall Kennedy is a professor at Harvard Law School where he teaches courses on contracts, freedom of expression, and the regulation of race relations. Mr. Kennedy was born in Columbia, South Carolina. For his education he attended St. Albans School, Princeton University, Oxford University, and Yale Law School. He served as a law clerk for Judge J. Skelly Wright of the United States Court of Appeals and for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court of the United States. Awarded the 1998 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for Race, Crime, and the Law, Mr. Kennedy writes for a wide range of scholarly and general interest publications, and sits on the editorial boards of The Nation, Dissent, and The American Prospect. A member of the American Law Institute, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Association, Mr. Kennedy was awarded an honorary degree by Haverford College and is a former trustee of Princeton University.

[Nunya]

Re: &quot;The book of Negroes&quot; whey u think?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Donnika</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
As to your other statements; You write what you know and I would not be convinced that a man, let alone a very caucasous one(how dat sound?) knows how a little black girl would think, react, make decisions naturally. He would be guessing and often be way off base. He could convince the less discerning, but not me.</div></div>

Donnika, if we only wrote what we know, then the world of literature would be sparse indeed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nylah, I was not familiar with the book but I saw the cover loud and big <span style='font-size: 14pt'>"THE BOOK OF NEGROES"</span> being read by a caucasian. My visceral reaction is exactly as I stated and I make no apologies. I find the title a little more than tasteless. I find it offensive.
</div></div>

I find the title disconcerting. I went insearch of his reasons for choosing it and this is what I found.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Q: The title is taken from the original historical book and is such a provocative and profound name for a novel. When did you decide to use it for your story?

A: I first thought of calling it Migrations, but it sounded too stilted and academic and boring. Then I got more into the original Book of Negroes and decided to have Aminata not only have her name entered into it, but to participate in writing it as a scribe working for the British in Manhattan. So, using it as the novel’s title began to seem like the right thing to do. I’m not a religious person – I was raised by two atheists – but I love the religious ring of The Book of Negroes. It sounds like something straight out of the Bible. I think it says everything.
</div></div>
source

What was the original 'Book of Negroes'?

<span style="color: #CC0000"> In 1776, British troops under the command of General Billy Howe captured New York City. The city continued to be a British stronghold for the duration of the war, and large numbers of enslaved blacks sought refuge there.

When the British evacuated Savannah in July, 1782 and Charleston five months later, they transported thousands of black men and women, many of whom had escaped from enslavement to Patriot masters. This emerged as an issue of protest for the Continental government, affecting the terms of the peace treaty.

Prior to the evacuation of New York, Congress instructed General Washington to obtain American property held by the British, including slaves, as stipulated under the terms of the agreement signed in Paris in November, 1782.

Sir Guy Carleton, negotiating on behalf of the British, dismayed the Americans when he expressed an intention to honor the proclamations of freedom issued by previous commanders, claiming that to do otherwise would be a "dishonorable Violation of the public Faith." Carleton proposed to compensate slaveowners for the loss of property.

Carleton assigned three men to compile a register of Negroes who were eligible for evacuation from New York, and Congress appointed a three-man commission to inspect and supervise the process. For the next several months the British board and the American commission met each Wednesday at the Queen's Head, a tavern owned by Samuel Fraunces, a free black, and reviewed cases brought by slaveowners.

Within a year, the British had compiled a register of 3,000 former slaves who had joined them prior to the signing of the 1782 provisional treaty; all others were to be returned. Among the 3,000 who departed New York in November, 1783 were 1119 men, 914 women, 339 boys, 335 girls and 76 children whose gender was unidentified. Of these, the largest group comprised those who had joined the British military and therefore claimed freedom by proclamation; the second largest was those who claimed to have abandoned their master during the war; and the third largest group was those who claimed to have been born free or to have been emancipated.</span>



source

[Blackstar*]

Re: &quot;The book of Negroes&quot; whey u think?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Donnika</div><div class="ubbcode-body">well dan hill get jacket. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif[/img]
few black children? if she adopted them... a young young gyal. and smaddy whey white cyaan have a black child, dem can only have mixed naturally. <span style='font-size: 11pt'>and dat bway noh black in fimmi book if him less than 60% african.</span>
*I can hear the thud of a tree falling all the way in Brazil after that statement [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]* </div></div>
Uh oh. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70374-lipsrsealed.gif[/img]

[SistahD]

Re: &quot;The book of Negroes&quot;

"Bravo, bravo, bravo, to Lawrence Hill on winning the coveted Commonwealth Writers' Prize in South Africa last week-end! Once again you have done Canada proud with this incredible literary work! May you continue to be the excellent "cultuaral ambassador" you have always been! Félicitations!" source: Sarah Onyango, BlackOttawa411



More info on this prize at:

http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/news/news/detail.cfm?id=392

South African media coverage:

http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,169784,00.html

Canadian media coverage:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=524534

Lawrence Hill's official website:

http://www.lawrencehill.com/news.html