Answering the Cry for Freedom

[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.