Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
- Downloads：8468
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-26 18:31:55
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ibram X. Kendi
- ISBN：B08GCX2BT6
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Nick
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So Much New InfoI enjoy learning about history and this collection of essays told so many new stories and insights。 It is powerful to learn history from a different perspective than what we get in the textbooks。 it is also unfortunate that we。aren't taught much of these stories at school。 So Much New InfoI enjoy learning about history and this collection of essays told so many new stories and insights。 It is powerful to learn history from a different perspective than what we get in the textbooks。 it is also unfortunate that we。aren't taught much of these stories at school。 。。。more
Brenna
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I listened to this on audio and oh how it added yet another level to the book。。。 the number of times I had to stop， rewind and listen again。。。this should be a must read in every school across the Country。
Ranny Welton
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Really a unique approach to developing the history of African America。 Thoroughly enjoyed the different styles of the stories and really learned a lot from the presentation。 Highly recommend。
Amy
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Wonderful。 I do wish the narrators had announced themselves for each essay instead of in the afterward。 I suspect this is one of those books that should be read and listened to so that you can experience the power of the prose and the narration。 Whichever format you choose， let Four Hundred Souls envelop you。
Jamie
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It took me 2 months to read this enormous work of Black History， but that’s because I would read a section and then pick up another book。 I learned so much from this collection of 90 essays and I think anyone who cares about the United States should read it。 I think teachers should excerpt it。 I loved that each essay was about 4 pages long; this huge book really flows。 It’s so damn sad， though， how entrenched racism and white supremacy have impacted Black History。 But Black resilience and excell It took me 2 months to read this enormous work of Black History， but that’s because I would read a section and then pick up another book。 I learned so much from this collection of 90 essays and I think anyone who cares about the United States should read it。 I think teachers should excerpt it。 I loved that each essay was about 4 pages long; this huge book really flows。 It’s so damn sad， though， how entrenched racism and white supremacy have impacted Black History。 But Black resilience and excellence comes through as well， and the co-editors leave us with cautious hope。 。。。more
Kelsey
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I loved the structure of this book: 90 writers wrote essays， poems， or fictional pieces chronologically for each 5 years of African America being in existence。 The book covers from 1619-2019。 It is such a powerful and important book to read and see the thread through time of a constant fight for every right。 And also so much talent and intellect and bravery。 Reading through four hundred years in order helped me understand the context of people and movements in a much stronger way than I ever hav I loved the structure of this book: 90 writers wrote essays， poems， or fictional pieces chronologically for each 5 years of African America being in existence。 The book covers from 1619-2019。 It is such a powerful and important book to read and see the thread through time of a constant fight for every right。 And also so much talent and intellect and bravery。 Reading through four hundred years in order helped me understand the context of people and movements in a much stronger way than I ever have。Some stand out sections:1619-1624 Arrival by Nikole Hannah-Jones1719-1724 Maroons and Marronage by Sylviane A。 DioufBefore Revolution by Morgan Parker1784-1789 The U。S。 Constitution by Donna Brazile1819-1824 Denmark Vesey by Robert Jones， Jr1839-1844 Racial Passing by Allyson Hobbs1844-1849 James McCune Smith， M。D。 by Harriet A。 Washington1914-1919 The Great Migration by Isabel WilkersonAnd honestly most of Part Ten:1979-1984: The War on Drugs by James Forman， Jr。1989-1994: Anita Hill by Salamishah Tillet 1994-1999: The Crime Bill by Angela Y。 Davis2009-2014: The Shelby Ruling by Karine Jean-Pierre2014-2019: Black Lives Matter by Alicia GarzaIt’s a dense read but it is a necessary and absolutely worthy one。 。。。more
Janice Lewis
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Excellent book！ Should be required high school or college reading。
Joy
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As a 50-something white American， a product a public schools， who did not appreciate history until much later in life， this collection of stories taught me much。 Many if not most of the stories were ones I was not familiar with。 Having read through it once， I would like to go back and read it again， taking the time to learn from other sources as well。 The audiobook is a beautiful performance by multiple voices， and well worth the listen。
Nicole
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This is quite a collection， but I think I need to avoid these kinds of books on audio。 I thought each essay being read by another person would make this a GOOD audio fit for someone like me， whose attention wanders。 But instead， I grew quite disoriented and had to go back to catch the thread again more than once。 An important read that I may check out from the library as a physical book for better absorption。
Sydney
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I can't say enough so I won't try。 The vignettes。 The SEEING the people and their humanity rather than just the surrounding events in history。 The context of the events。 The chronology。 I had to use several of the sections as jumping off points to fill in gaps in my knowledge。 I will probably be buying a copy for my bookshelf。 I can't say enough so I won't try。 The vignettes。 The SEEING the people and their humanity rather than just the surrounding events in history。 The context of the events。 The chronology。 I had to use several of the sections as jumping off points to fill in gaps in my knowledge。 I will probably be buying a copy for my bookshelf。 。。。more
Beth
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Loved the structure of this book。 So many different authors and topics and writing styles。 A fabulous way to present history。 Not surprisingly， some pieces were far more interesting and more powerfully written than others， but overall incredibly worthwhile。
Corinne
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Ambitious in scope， and completely different than the comprehensive history book I thought it would be。 Instead， each author offers an essay on a small chunk of American history， what it meant then and what it means now。 African Americans literally telling their own history in short essays and poems。
Salliewt
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Appreciate the collaboration of everyone involved with the project。 Lots of information but the short sections made it accessible。 So glad they put this together。 One I can see picking up again。
Richard
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I loved everything about the book Four Hundred Souls， edited by Ibram X。 Kendi and Keisha N。 Blain。 Well， everything that is except what it shows about our country’s racist history。 I have come to reading fairly late in my life。 Until the last few years I had always been told that reading made you smarter。 Of late， I am also finding out that reading does something much more important， it lets you know how ignorant you were。When I went to school， many， many， many decades ago， I was taught accordi I loved everything about the book Four Hundred Souls， edited by Ibram X。 Kendi and Keisha N。 Blain。 Well， everything that is except what it shows about our country’s racist history。 I have come to reading fairly late in my life。 Until the last few years I had always been told that reading made you smarter。 Of late， I am also finding out that reading does something much more important， it lets you know how ignorant you were。When I went to school， many， many， many decades ago， I was taught according to the great man theory of history。 I learned that Columbus discovered the world was round， Newton discovered gravity， Lincoln freed the slaves。 Maybe there were a few women in there but it was called the great man theory so I think that you can figure it out who the “real” leaders were。A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn opened my eyes to a whole different slant on American history。 Sure， I already knew that the victors wrote the history books but suddenly I realized that when old， white men write the books and laws they really downplay or “white wash” the contributions by women and people of color。If you asked me last week was I familiar with the issues of racism， the legacy of slavery， and the systemic racism in the United States I would have professed to be pretty knowledgable。 I had lived through the sixties， I grew up in a liberal， democrat voting household， I knew people of color， I knew a lot about America’s racial strife。 Of course， that was before I read Four Hundred Souls。Kendi and Blain tasked eighty writers and ten poets to help them tell the story of slavery and racism in America。 They set 2019 as the year to commission and compile these works as it was the four hundredth anniversary of the first slave ship arriving at the territories that would evolve into the United States of America。 Each author was asked to write roughly five pages on one issue or person from a particular time period。 They then put these stories into ten groups， each spanning forty years， and then concluding each section with a poem。Let me list a few words and phrases that spring to my mind when thinking about what I just read in Four Hundred Souls; powerful， eye opening， revealing， depressing， awe inspiring， revolting， inspirational， pathetic， wonderful， sadistic， unfinished。 Similar to Dickens’ immortal line， “it was the best of times， it was the worst of times”， Kendi and Blain have gathered narrations of the best sides of human nature and the absolute worst。I cannot recommend this book highly enough。 You need to read it。 You need to feel it。 No matter how many books you have read about American history， slavery， race and racism， I believe that you still need to read this book。 If I could， I would donate a copy of this book to every public and school library in the country and then make it required reading in every school history class。 Is there anything better than 5 stars on Goodreads？！ 。。。more
Wanda
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Excellent historical account of events over the last 400 years。
Rachael | booksforbrunch
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"For people of African descent， the United States is still a place of half freedom。" "For people of African descent， the United States is still a place of half freedom。" 。。。more
Kaitlyn （ktxx22） Walker
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This audiobook is fire。 The writing in this is magical。 And the only reason I’m giving it 4/5 and not a 5/5 is because in parts this book feels disjointed。 Like it’s hobbled together with overlapping or tales that don’t fit in with the timeline given before each story exactly。 Regardless it’s another excellent piece of historical writing and I gleaned quite a bit of new information which I love。
Ariela
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This is a really tremendous work and I hope it becomes part of school history curricula。 Some of the essays are stronger than others -- there are a few where I don't think the focus is quite right， and some editing issues where the same topic came up in consecutive essays。 However， overall I think this is a really fascinating work that adds a lot to anyone's understanding of an area of history that's not taught much！ This is a really tremendous work and I hope it becomes part of school history curricula。 Some of the essays are stronger than others -- there are a few where I don't think the focus is quite right， and some editing issues where the same topic came up in consecutive essays。 However， overall I think this is a really fascinating work that adds a lot to anyone's understanding of an area of history that's not taught much！ 。。。more
Dre McDermott
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Brilliant！
HiphopQuyn
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I learned so much from these short essays。 So many fascinating snippets of history and so much beautiful poetry。
Jeff
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A beautiful， powerful， essential book。 Really enjoyed it， and learned a ton。
Pete
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This was a REALLY well put together anthology。 The diversity of voices was astounding， as was the diversity in form （works of journalism， history， short story， and poetry）。 There was an extent to which each chapter was somewhat "introductory" to the people and events it covered。 （That is， much more has obviously been written， in depth， about each person/event。） But as a whole， this text stands as being FAR MORE inclusive and thorough than the vast majority of U。S。 history classes -- in K-12 and This was a REALLY well put together anthology。 The diversity of voices was astounding， as was the diversity in form （works of journalism， history， short story， and poetry）。 There was an extent to which each chapter was somewhat "introductory" to the people and events it covered。 （That is， much more has obviously been written， in depth， about each person/event。） But as a whole， this text stands as being FAR MORE inclusive and thorough than the vast majority of U。S。 history classes -- in K-12 and higher ed。 For that， I highly recommend the book to anyone who， like me， was educated in a white supremacist system of education that erased so much of this history。 。。。more
Heather Sobek
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So many pieces of history that I am ashamed I did not know， even with a history degree from MSU
Bethany
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Four Hundred Souls is a really interesting project and definitely worth your time。 It gathers together around 80 Black writers， activists etc。 and assigns each of them a 5 year period in African American history to write about。 The result is a tapestry of writing styles and approaches to covering that history， whether through laser focus on an individual or event， or a broader overview of key events。 At times that period of history is tied back into things happening today and the book ends with Four Hundred Souls is a really interesting project and definitely worth your time。 It gathers together around 80 Black writers， activists etc。 and assigns each of them a 5 year period in African American history to write about。 The result is a tapestry of writing styles and approaches to covering that history， whether through laser focus on an individual or event， or a broader overview of key events。 At times that period of history is tied back into things happening today and the book ends with 2019。It's interesting， often insightful， and you will probably learn a thing or two。 Perhaps unsurprisingly given the number of collaborators， the book can feel choppy and doesn't flow in a straightforward narrative。 I think it's a good starting point， but hopefully will inspire people to read other， more comprehensive works on some of this history。 Thank you to Libro。FM for providing the audiobook！ The audio was very well done as well。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Kimberly Lancaster
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Glad I listened to this as it was very powerful。 Will likely need a hard copy for my bookshelf。
Rachel
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 American history we should've learned in school American history we should've learned in school 。。。more
Jenny
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If you’ve made a commitment to listen to BIPOC voices， this collection provides a richly varied resource。 The scope of this project， both in terms of the historical ground covered， as well as the number of contributors， is impressive。 I loved the editor’sdecisions to let the contributors determine their own approach to their assigned historical segment—the resulting collection of history， memoir， prose， poetry， and academic discourse reflects the multi-faceted dimensions of the history of race i If you’ve made a commitment to listen to BIPOC voices， this collection provides a richly varied resource。 The scope of this project， both in terms of the historical ground covered， as well as the number of contributors， is impressive。 I loved the editor’sdecisions to let the contributors determine their own approach to their assigned historical segment—the resulting collection of history， memoir， prose， poetry， and academic discourse reflects the multi-faceted dimensions of the history of race in America。 。。。more
Linda Higgins
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Excellent， excellent， excellent。 This book told in 400 essays tells the true African American History that we were not taught。 So many wonderful writers with meaningful words and phrases that will sit with me for quite some time。 Here are a few of my favorite words: The Black experience in America can be defined as the never ending search for refuge， sanctuary and safe places to live。 The individual who carries the pen controls the narrative。 Generations of American storytellers have found that Excellent， excellent， excellent。 This book told in 400 essays tells the true African American History that we were not taught。 So many wonderful writers with meaningful words and phrases that will sit with me for quite some time。 Here are a few of my favorite words: The Black experience in America can be defined as the never ending search for refuge， sanctuary and safe places to live。 The individual who carries the pen controls the narrative。 Generations of American storytellers have found that banishment digests easier than recollection。 A must read for all on the true stories of African American History。 。。。more
Jerry
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An ambitious concept， flawlessly executed。
Vincent Alexis-laona
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