Books: Non-Fiction

Freedom in Congo Square

Book — Non-fiction. By Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. 2016. 40 pages.
Introduces children to the brutality of slavery and the role of culture in resistance.

Time Periods: 18th Century, 19th Century
Themes: African American, Slavery and Resistance
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Freedom in Congo Square introduces children to the brutality of slavery and the role of culture in resistance.

The award-winning team of author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator R. Gregory Christie describes the life of those enslaved on a plantation, using the days of the week to introduce types of labor, punishments, escapes, religion, and more. Exuberance fills the pages for Sundays when people held in slavery are allowed to gather in Congo Square to rest for a half day, exchange news, play music, and experience “freedom’s heart.”

One critique, and something that can be addressed in a read-aloud, is that “slaves” is used throughout, instead of “enslaved Africans” or “enslaved people”. [Description from Rethinking Schools.]

ISBN: 9781499801033  | Little Bee Books

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Related Resources
Picture Books

The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery

Picture book. By Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. 2013.
Story of John Price’s escape to freedom with the help of the Oberlin–Wellington Rescue.

Films

Slave Catchers, Slave Resisters

Film. Produced by Judy Richardson, Northern Light Productions for History Channel. 2005. 100 minutes.
Documentary on the many rebellions by enslaved people and other forms of resistance.

This Day in History

Jan. 8, 1811: Louisiana’s Heroic Slave Revolt

The German Coast Uprising was a strategic military assault against white supremacy by hundreds of enslaved Africans.