Freeman

This book sheds light on what it was like in 1865 from the perspective of both the slave owners and the slaves.

If one has a grounding in African-American history, then much of this book will not be new or fresh ground. That is not to say a knowledge of African-American history is necessary to enjoy this novel, on the contrary. You will be educated and moved by the story of AAs struggling after emancipation. There are three concurrent journeys taking place in Freeman. Sam Freeman, Tilda and Prudence.Through the story of these three, one really has to examine what is the right way to respond to sudden freedom. Or is there even a right way? How would you react to being "free" after being enslaved for so long? Well we are given these different perspectives while feeling as best we can, what it could have been like. I like the fact that some unknown history is being brought to life. The commitment to learning is a little known black history fact, but is made clear in this novel. The establishment of marriage bonds and love without "legal" sanction, and the seriousness of these connections is another reality lost to history. As Sam is asked along his trek, "'you need some white man with a Bible to tell you who your wife is?'"The main character, Sam Freeman, sets out on a 1000 mile journey by foot to find his wife Tilda, the minute after the war is over. It has been fifteen years, but he still has a burning desire to reconnect with his wife. This was not an anomaly. History is replete with many wandering the south after emancipation attempting to reunite with family. That is a serious statement on love. Some of the situations in this novel are pulled directly from history. This lends realism to the book and helps move it to the greatness column.Tilda is a character that will frustrate some, because of what we see as fear. The author does a great job of drawing her with a balance that makes the reader empathetic, even though she makes you wanna holler! Does she choose not to change her situation because of fear? Or is there something deeper?Prudence is anything but prudent, and as such becomes the center of a firestorm. She is the feisty daughter of a northern abolitionist, who came late to that position. She is committed to helping the freedmen, as a duty to her late father.The revelations for Prudence uncovered in her adventure, are a minor setback for her. She soldiers on in the face of information that some would find crushing.I know I am being deliberately vague in describing events, because I want you all to buy this book, read and share it with others. There are some serious teachable moments that are historically accurate. This novel should certainly be added to the must read list concerning the emancipation time period.There is much to be gleaned from this novel and will give one a greater sense of African-Americans and their commitment to this country, this is a great book!

I was raised in the Florida during the time when racism and prejudice was at its height. There were "colored and white" bathrooms and drinking fountains. Colored people were not allowed to be in "white" residential areas after 6pm. without a pass or they would be arrested.I was 5 years old at the time. Little children don't see color unless taught. Both my parents worked and I was taken care of by a negro nanny. She had a young daughter who was my age and she would bring her with her to work. Being an only child, I was thrilled. We played together and my life was filled with laughter. My birthday was coming up and I wrote a list of guests and my play mate was on top of my list. When I showed my parents my lists, sadly my lessons in reality began. They both reacted: my father was furious and shouted at me, "Absolutely not!" and stalked out of the room. My mother was more "diplomatic" and tried to explain why my friend couldn't come. I couldn't understand and I cried and begged that my she would be able to come. It didn't happen.As the years passed there were many more incidents in which I realized my father was a bigot and my mother was an intellectual racist. How often I heard her say, "There will be a time whenintegration will happen. We just have to be patient." Our fights were often and bitter.I became a teacher in the south and many of my lessons that I taught my all white class centered around trying to teach them that they had the ability to resist what they had been taught. My attempts fell on deaf ears.I moved to the north, married and began teaching in an inner city school. I took over for another teacher who had left in Feb. Finally, I felt like I would be able to put into practice what I believed.I would like to say it was all roses. However, I kept making terrible mistakes, but all unintentional. A small example was when my 9th grade girls were discussing what color dresses they would wear. Blithely, I offered my opinion, " Why not wear white? The color would look great!" You can imagine their reaction.Even though reading Mr Pitts book evoked visions of my own past, I thoroughly enjoyed his ability to vividly recreate a terrible time in our history. His characters were totally believeable.I look forward to reading his next book. Day after day I came home and cried. My husband implored me to quit. I refused and in September, I returned a lot wiser and taught my integrated classes again, i am glad to say that I had finally freed myself.

This book managed to be hopeful despite many awful occurrences, and it think it might be the most believable story of slavery I have ever read. It was a tribute to the true natures of people, and I imagine it is indicative of many actual emotional, social, and political issues of the time. I really enjoyed Sam's story, and I advise anyone to read it and see for themselves.