The Book of Negroes

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“My Culture, My History”

In this activity, students will gather family histories in an anthology entitled The Book of (Student’s Last Name).

The Book of Negroes uses a first-person point-of-view to tell the story of a woman’s brave and oftentimes graphic experiences during the historical period of slavery in Europe and America. She draws from her personal experiences as well as the stories of her family and native village to convey the vital issues of abolition and freedom. Although Aminata’s stories are from a different historical time period, she illuminates issues that are relatable in today’s world. What can the stories of our relatives tell us about our own culture and personal histories? Identify two members of your family who consent to being interviewed about interesting stories or narratives from their past. Draw connections to the things you have experienced within your family and compile your interviews into a first-person narrative similar to Aminata’s.

• Interview at least two family members. You may record their stories by hand or using a voice recorder.
• Transcribe the stories into a 2-3 page narrative that is connected by theme and topic.

Your history can include dialogue, figurative language, and interesting narrative techniques. This activity will help you think through Storytelling devices and narrative techniques.

Teaching Suggestion: This is an opportunity to use the theme of storytelling to give students agency in how they process and access the text. Although this activity does not depend on knowing facts and plot points from the novel, it does ask students to study the writing style and narrative techniques used by the author.

Differentiation Suggestion: This activity may be differentiated for advanced learners by asking them to turn their narratives into short films. They can narrate their written history while using recordings of family members (made with consent) or found footage.

Paired Text Extension:

This activity could serve as a bridge to other texts about historical time periods and personal family narratives.

“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston is a short story about an overworked washerwoman and her unemployed husband in the 1920s. Even though the story does not take place in the same historical period, it uses a female protagonist and the thematic device of Storytelling to highlight systemic oppressions and generational traumas in Black America.

• Students may read the text and compare and contrast it to The Book of Negroes.

Teaching Suggestion: This is an additional text that offers shared connections in themes. It can be assigned to students who are fast readers and are looking for additional learning.