400 Years of History: Try Not To Repeat It

Lift every voice and sing

Till earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;

High as the listening skies,

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on till victory is won.

Lift Every Voice and Sing - James Weldon Johnson

Spoiler alert, the book is titled Four Hundred Souls because the authors are writing about 1 soul for each year of African American history, those years being 1619 to 2019. I think that is a pretty nifty fact to include in this review.

Alright now let’s get into the specific details involving this piece of work. 90+ authors contributed their own writing styles, thoughts, opinions, and research for this book. As stated in my recommendation, this book has 10 different parts with 8 chapters per part and each part ends with 1 poem. Each chapter is separated by a stretch of years, for example, Chapter 1 is 1619-1624, Chapter 2 is 1624-1629, so on and so forth until you reach Chapter 80 which are the years 2014-2019. The book starts off in the year 1619 because that is the first year African Americans were mentioned in history. I go more in depth on the “Arrival of African Americans” in a later paragraph, so if you keep reading, you‘ll get to it.

Throughout this book, the different authors tell you a variety of stories on what shaped African American history within the 400 years mentioned in the title. At the end of each chapter, there is a specific poem that touches on one or more topics that were mentioned in the previous chapters. Each chapter is no longer than 5 or so pages so it is quite a fast read, if you stick to it that is. All-in-all, the main meat of the book are the chapters and poems, which in totality are 395 pages. The remaining 396-504 pages contain 4 more parts. In order, there are notes, contributors, contributor credits and an index. The notes are the different references in each chapter. The contributors section is around a paragraph long explanation on each author featured in this book. The contributor credits is a detailed list of each author for each story, poem, etc. Then lastly, the index is exactly what an index is; either a word or a few words and what pages that particular word is referenced in the book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5 for multiple reasons. One, while the different authors reference the past and share stories of the past, they make it a point to mention the future. For example, in one particular poem called Before Revolution, which I talk about in more depth later on, they mention topics like before Wall Street as a slave market, before Freedom of Speech, Ellis Island, etc., they also make mention of more timely subjects like Barack Obama, The Blind Side, etc. The authors in almost every chapter be sure to tie in whatever story or topic into what our world is like today, whether it be in their opinion or straight-up factual.

The second reason is this book put history in a different view for me. While I was reading it, there were factual stories mentioned that I had no idea existed or even happened. For example, the first chapter is titled Arrival, written by Nikole Hannah-Jones. In the third paragraph, Jones mentions the Mayflower. Now that is a story I am familiar with. When it comes to the fourth paragraph, Jones mentions a ship called the White Lion. The White Lion anchored off the eastern shore of North America, one year before the Mayflower, said Jones. Aboard the White Lion, were “20 and odd Negroes” who then joined the British colonists in Virginia. Jones continues to talk about how the story of the White Lion was erased and that not many people even knew about. Now I cannot speak for everyone, but I know for a fact that growing up, in all my schooling, I do not recall ever hearing of a ship called the White Lion. For the purpose of this review, the authors go into a lot more depth continuing on in the book regarding stories or people who history books forgot about, and some that the history books do mention. It put into perspective to me that there are so many people and so many stories out there that no matter what, everyday, you have the ability to learn something new. All you have to do, is be open to it.

Circling back on why I rated this book a 5 out of 5, another reason why is I plain and simple enjoyed reading the book. Even though the book is mainly factual based, each author inputs their own opinion on the topics at hand. Some people who may read this book might not like what certain chapters talk about or what those authors have to say, or other readers may finish this book with their eyes opened a little wider than before on specific issues that don’t involve them or maybe do involve them. Either way, it doesn’t matter, but in this case, I was both of those readers. Honestly no matter what side of the coin you come out of while reading this book, it is still history that needs to be talked about. This book isn’t about me, it isn’t about you, it’s about history and how we can improve and try our absolute hardest to not repeat it. We aren’t trying to overwrite what happened, we are trying to move forward. Each of these stories or people that are written about, has a topic that we shouldn’t tip toe around. It could be conversations that need to get that bandaid ripped off, or some could be ones that others just need to be educated on. Either way, they are topics we need to learn about it, whether you think it effects you or not.

Going off of that, there were parts in this book that I did not particularly agree with, but to me, that is almost every single book I have read. The thing that made this book the most interesting, is even if I didn’t agree with something, the author shed it in a different light for me to try and understand. I didn’t shut the book and get angry. I continued to read because I wanted the full story, and I am glad I continued. No matter your views, this book overall is a very educational read and I do recommend it.

Going in depth now on certain topics that were discussed in this book., of course since there are almost 400 pages, 80 chapters worth of stories, it will be a little difficult to discuss every chapter and every topic. Either way, I do want to touch on a few topics I either found very interesting or thoroughly enjoyed. The rest of this review will be a full disclosure on topics written about in this book as well as my opinion on them. I will try to go in order of the chapters, so if there is a main topic you wish to read, I will be putting the title of the chapter within that connecting paragraph. I cannot promise I will stay in chapter order because there are some earlier chapters that bring up good topics in later chapters and I need to talk about them together, otherwise it wouldn’t be a discombobulated review written by yours truly.

A main topic I found intriguing was a chapter dealing with the term “allies.” In Part II, Chapter 1689-1694, author Christopher J. Lebron discusses this topic. Lebron mentions the #MeToo movement and right away this caught my attention. This is just another example of these authors relating past stories, but using future stories as examples. Lebron mentions movements such as #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, etc., but he raises the question on what makes a good ally? I always thought a good ally was someone who wasn’t a bystander. A good ally was someone who fought to help the oppressed and help overcome the trials and tribulations that the oppressed go through. Lebron talks about an ally as someone who is not directly harmed by the injustice in question, but also stands with those being harmed. Thinking back on my definition, this explanation made sense, but it is what else Lebron says that made me rethink my understanding. Lebron says that, to be an ally really, in many ways, it asks more of the privileged than they are willing to give, but less than what those on the other side of that privilege, what they really need. I never thought of it that way. Now whenever I will try to be an ally to someone, I won’t assume what they need, I will ask. I feel like in any circumstance assuming isn’t the best route to go, whether the end results in someone getting their feelings hurt or any other type of bad outcome. Asking is the best option and really shows that you care enough to try and help, but it is asking what the person needs and not assuming what you think they need is what will help in the long run.

That entire chapter put into perspective of me and my privilege. Now I know some people will say that “I don’t have privilege,” but in my opinion, I think everyone has privilege in some way or the other. In my particular case, I am a cis-gender white female who grew up in a “good” neighborhood. I went to catholic school up until college, I mean hell, I was able to go to college. I have food on the table, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. Now here’s the thing, I have been educated, in my semi-adult years, to own up to that privilege. I didn’t fully understand it when I was first told that. I thought it was an insult and that I should be ashamed for the life I was given, but recognizing my privilege and in turn using it to help others is the way to use that privilege. Whether or not that was what Lebron was trying to say regarding his ally chapter, it is what ended up resonating most with me. It is not a crime to have privilege, but don’t forget to check it in certain situations and realize it isn’t about you. I say that after I just talked about myself for the past paragraph, after I previously said this book isn’t about me. Welp. I guess, in some way, yes this book isn’t about me, or about you, but it helps educate you.

Moving onto a more forward topic, many revolts and rebellions were discussed throughout the book as well. I heard of a few in school, such as Rosa Parks boycotting by not getting up from her seat on a predominantly white bus, which to me, that is a bad ass woman right there. There were other bad ass women mentioned in this book that I want to touch on as well. In one chapter called Combahee River Collective by Barbara Smith, Black feminism is mentioned and talked about how it was built. Smith starts the chapter by talking about the South during the mid-1970s and how Black Power and Black Nationalism were dominating political ideologies, but something that wasn’t allowed to be apart of that was Black women. Black women came together in 1974 to form the group that became the Combahee River Collective, said Smith. Smith said that Black women were sick of not being heard, they were sick of all the violence, sick of feeling invisible, and much more that I could name, but they decided to stand together and build something for themselves. This is where Black feminism came out to play. This particular organization occurred during 1974-1980 in Boston and was a section of the National Black Feminist Organization, but as a collective group decided to become independent. They named themselves after the river where Harriet Tubman led a military raid during the Civil War that freed more than 750 enslaved people. See? Another badass woman. This organization ended up supporting campaigns of a few free women who had been unfairly prosecuted by the criminal injustice system, released a pamphlet titled Six Black Women: Why Did They Die to show the reality of violence against women, and much more. Smith said that this organization inspired a lot of organizations even now in this day and age, for example, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Colectiva Feminista en Construcción, located in Puerto Rico, and those are just 2 examples. I love to hear about strong women built organizations, and it is even more impressive that this organization was started almost over 50 years ago and as a revolt.

While we are on the topic of revolts and rebellions, one of the first ones I read about was on page 82, The Revolt in New York. This particular revolt had to do with African American’s being forbidden to congregate in groups larger than three. The continuation of this revolt lead to new laws that were created “so restrictive that a free Black person became rare in Manhattan.” The particular revolt had severe killings. A pattern that I noticed was throughout the rest of the book, whenever a rebellion or revolt was mentioned, whites, Native American’s, African’s, etc. were killed and it is just plain horrifying. The authors do not sugarcoat a thing, which is what is needed. I know that the killing side of these stories is apart of the story, but it doesn’t mean that learning about them is any easier. Which I guess it is not supposed to be.

To lighten up on topics, music was a main, important topic and had great influence over African American history. This was one of my favorite topics that was discussed and mentioned throughout multiple parts in the book. Now is when I want to mention the first few lines of the review. For this particular review, as I was reading the book, I couldn't pin-point any specific song I think resognated well with this book. One thing I did remember was a poem I had heard a few years ago. I was in college at Western Michigan University, and one of my friends has told me she found this poem for African American History month online. I read the poem and it stuck with me. This poem specifically mentions music and how you should sing it as high to the skies, sing it to the seas, sing about hope, sing about faith, and struggles in life. This poem focuses on African American history and I thought it was perfect for this book's review. Later on I talk about how music had such an influential part in African American history, and this particular book mentions it multiple different times, but I thought I would share this particular poem to show the parallels that poems and songs each help in their own way. The part of the poem I shared is the happier part, but just like songs about history, there are parts that are grim and eerie. I encourage you to go read the rest of the poem because within the cheerful and eerie, there is hope.

Back to the book, in Chapter 1724-1729 The Spirituals by Corey D. B. Walker, Walker mentions music as the sacred sound of freedom. Apparently the 18th century was a major starting point for Black sacred sound. The different African religions, Abrahamic and indigenous, incorporated historical, cultural and religious expressions of those certain communities, Walker said. African’s used music to express their hopes, joys, dreams, histories, aspirations, and longings of a person’s history while simultaneously creating a new world, Walker continues. A quote from this chapter, spoken from pioneering musicologist Eileen Souther, that I think speaks volumes is, “The music is everywhere! Often, one needs only to stop and listen.” Now going hand in hand with music is used to express hope, joy, dreams, etc., music is was also used to express pain and suffering. The last paragraph in this chapter is, what is the sound of Black freedom? Walker responds with a quote from W.E.B. Du Bois: “Do the sorrow songs sing true?” Both of these music quotes really makes you think because it shows both sides of the coin. Just like back then, and even now, music helps us shine brighter, while also not forgetting our struggles and sorrows. It forces people to write music about those hard times and the struggles, and to make sure what your saying is the truth, because you never know how many people will listen.

Music continues to be a major factor in African American history. Sorry to skip around the book, but in chapter 1984-1989 The Hip-Hop Generation by Bavaria Kitwana, Kitwana mentions how music became an outlet for African Americans to talk about what happened in the past and how they wanted to raise awareness so it didn’t get repeated in the future. They wanted to use music as a space of prevention of oppression and instead shaped the lyrics to their advantage. Music still remains to this day as a major outlet for artists to raise awareness of issues going on in the world, and to think, this was being used as a tactic back in the 1700s. It’s crazy to think about as someone born in the 1990s, but it also gives me a giddy feeling in my stomach. Music is a major factor for me when describing how I feel or even to help interpret my feelings, so I can only imagine the impact it had in the past and the impact it can continue to have in the future.

To take it back a few chapters, the first poem I want to talk about are pages 105-108. It is the poem called Before Revolution, and it is ending Part III of the book. This poem highlights famous people, stories, or instances with African Americans in history. The purpose of this poem is to say that before anything having to do with African Americans, whether it be in the 21st century, a famous African American actor, songwriter, or Black women driving cars, or before Emmett Till, or before New Orleans invented jazz, etc., there was Revolution. If you read this poem and dissect it, it is a deeply meaningful and eerie poem. It was beautiful written because in the midst of happiness, there is horror intertwined.

Continuing on, I wanted to discuss an example of different writing styles in this book. As you read, the authors discuss different people, experiences, etc, and it is in the form of a story. Chapter 1869-1874 Reconstruction by Michael Harriot is a chapter that caught me by surprise. The first sentence is a massive attention grabber. “What you are about to read is the story of the first war on terror.” I mean wouldn’t you be intrigued too? As the chapter continues, the next few paragraphs, which are really just a sentence or two per, it is the style that caught my attention. As I was reading, I could sort of pin point where the topic of the story was taking me, but the writing style made me question what was going to be said next. It made me question the author and other things that particular author wrote. It made me question the actual context of the story, and because of my attention span, I had to re-read the first page of the chapter maybe 4 or 5 times to actually understand what was going on. It was a nice curve ball thrown my way in a sea of everyday story telling writing style.

One of the last chapters I want to talk about is the conclusion, written by Keisha N. Blain. One quote Blain says is “I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams.” This one sentence within itself stops anyone in their tracks, or at least it should. To think of all the oppression and struggle African American’s have gone through, and this book just focuses on 1619 to present, so I can only imagine there being much more before this timeline, but with that quote comes the rebuttal. Blain states on page 390, but are we our ancestors’ wildest dreams? Blain doesn’t think so. Blain thinks that all African Americans, across the nation, have to face many of the same problems that their ancestors fought to correct those many years ago. Blain goes into depth about political gains and triumphs over the years, racism and white supremacy in American life and culture, items such as disparities in healthcare, the educational sector, and much more. But something I applaud Blain for mentioning is that “Black people have never stopped dreaming, or fighting for those dreams to become a reality.” Blain then gives examples of African American’s overcoming oppression in certain scenarios that have proved dreams do come true. I want to end with one last quote Blain says; “Yet I am not convinced we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams. At least not yet.” That quote within itself gives hope.

There are so many more items, topics and stories that I could touch on, but I want to leave the mystery to you. After all, this is a book review and not the actual book. If you wish to learn more, I encourage you to pick up this book and open it’s pages. I promise you, lessons will be jumping out at you.

I throughly enjoyed reading this piece of work because I like hearing other people’s side to a story. As being a white woman, I have lived on one side of this story my whole life. All I expected to get out of this book was information and I can proudly say I received that. Other things I got out of this book was wonder, interest, sadness, education, anger, appreciation and that is just to name a few. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good short chapter read, a beautiful story telling book, or more specifically, anyone who wants to get out of their comfort zone. I hope whoever reads this book does just that.

Enjoy my fellow readers.