Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People

by Carole Boston Weatherford

Striking archival engravings and photographs accompany these twenty-nine original poems, taking the reader on a journey of over 400 years on the African American road to freedom. Weatherford's poems, together with haunting black-and-white images, create portraits of captured Africans, slaves on the auction block, heroes of freedom, craftsmen and storytellers. These are the men and women, ordinary folks as well as legendary heroes, who made their people proud and strong and built the bridge to a promising future. Readers of all ages and cultures will treasure Remember the Bridge .

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, History, Cultural, Nonfiction

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Carole Boston Weatherford is a children's book author and poet who mines the past for family stories, traditions, and struggles. A number of CAROLE's books tell the stories of African-American historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Jesse Owens, and Billie Holiday. Other books recount historical events such as the Greensboro Sit-ins and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. CAROLE's books have received a wide variety of awards, including a Caldecott Honour for “Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People To Freedom”.

Reviews

[Teri Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author states that she wanted to create a book using photographic images and poems so that people would remember. I think she has done just that. This book could be used with high school students because of the imagery viewed in the engravings and photos, along with the moving text. Starting with native Africa, the poems tell the story of Africans who journeyed against their will to become the enslaved workers of another continent. Several poems tell the heartbreaking story of what Africans left behind-- and the horrors they faced in America. Continuing to tell the story of the African-American, the author takes the reader on a journey through time up to the present, filling in the reader about common and famous people. I believe that selections from this book of poems would work well to help older students understand the culture of the African before his journey to America, but also would showcase how African-Americans fought back through individual achievements and group protests.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding collection of poetry that begs to be read aloud. Weatherford covers the history of African Americans in poems that start in Africa and move through the time of slavery and Reconstruction into the jazz age to today. The poems are accompanied by illustrations, lithographs, and photos in black and white and sepia tones, adding a feeling of history to the texts. I can't pick a favorite poem--I love them all. Beautifully done and highly recommended!

[Melissa Helton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I assume this is a collection for kids and teens. For that, it is a great collection. I would like to see a version of this with poems written showing more depth/complexity for adults.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good combo of words and pictures

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry collection is a stunning ode to the resiliency of African Americans and to the beauty of their culture.

[Courtney Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction:
It was really moving to read this collection of poems or 'poems of a people'. There were pictures in the book of beaten slaves so it was actually quite serious and the poems really told touching and inspiring stories. There were poems about a large amount of the most important african american people in history including Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther King Jr.. It was interesting to learn about them in poem form.

Purpose:
This poetry book is mainly for grades 4 and 5. It would be difficult for the younger grades to understand the deeper meanings of each of the poems. It would be beneficial to use for a poetry project in one of these grades. It would also be a interesting way to start a lesson on black history. There are poems about very impactful african americans in this poetry book, and it would be amazing to share this book with kids to start off a lesson about the underground railroad or MLK Jr..

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this would probably overwhelm many of my students, it's an astounding collection of poems. It carried me from the time in Africa before being captured to become slaves all the way to the present day through a series of deeply moving and meaningful poems. I really liked the entire collection, though it took me a couple of tries to get from cover to cover because after some of these, I had to sit back and think about what I'd just read. Really well done. Impressive.

[Debra Landay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book of poetry that pairs pictures with words. Some of the poems are more traditional than others and some are much more complicated. The book and its poems provides a history of the Black experience from Africa to the March on Washington. This book could be used as a model for writing from pictures and for finding pictures for words which is exactly how the book came to be

[Crystal Crites · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the beautifully written poems and pictures that bring the poems to life. This was an excellent book that shows the history of African American people from the time of slavery to now and how much their culture has changed and yet held onto and embraced it's African origins.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

My literacey specialist lent this to me when I was working on my slavery unit. The poems cover from slavery to the present. Some of the photographs are also very powerful.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has pretty good poetry. This book tells what its like to be a slave. It is inspiring poetry.

I book is a sad poetry book.

I recommend this book to sixth graders who care.

[Garrett Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book.... the images and poems in this book are very powerful. This could be used with older students. The historical accuracy of this book is on point!

[Pam Jones-Nill]

Beautiful poems cleverly match with photographs or illustrations.