Free at Last!: Stories and Songs of Emancipation

by Doreen Rappaport, Shane W. Evans (Illustrator)

True stories and traditional songs shed light on a lesser known era in African-American history — the crucial decades between Emancipation and the start of the Civil Rights movement.

In the dark of night, a mother risks her life to search for her four children, stolen by her former master. A wife refuses to hand her husband over to an angry white-hooded mob, despite the wailing of her babies — and the foot stomping on her pregnant belly. A woman calmly takes her seat in a first-class coach and is ordered to "I’m a lady. All ladies sit here," argues journalist Ida B. Wells before she is carried from the car, seat and all.

These are some of the vignettes presented in Free at Last! , interwoven with spirituals, work songs, blues lyrics, poems, and a compelling narrative recounting the experience of black Americans in the South from the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 through the dawn of the Civil Rights era in 1954. Drawing from true accounts, Doreen Rappaport writes of hopes for equality dashed by new "legal" injustices, and of a climate of fear and uncertainty fueled by intimidation, lynchings, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. But she tells also of the courageous struggle to re-create family and community life, achieve economic independence, explore creative expression, and eventually mount a successful legal challenge against segregation. Masterfully matched by Shane W. Evans’s bold, emotion-filled paintings, this is an invaluable resource for teachers, parents, librarians, students, and everyone else who values what it means to be truly free. Back matter includes a list of important dates, an artist’s note, sources, resources for further information, and an index.

An International Reading Association Teachers' Choice
A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice
A Chicago Public Library Best Book

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Picture Books, African American, Childrens, Cultural

64 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Doreen Rappaport has written many books of fiction and nonfiction for young readers, specializing in thoroughly researched multicultural history, historical fiction, retellings of folktales and myths, and stories of those she calls the "not-yet-celebrated." Among her recent books is Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier, which received a Caldecott Honor Award and a Coretta Scott King Honor Award for illustration. Doreen Rappaport divides her time between New York City and a rural village in upstate New York.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of three books Rappaport has written on the Black American experience. This book covers the period from the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to 1954. I like the way Rappaport told the story, inserting poems, songs, and quotes into her text. I did find one mistake, surely a typo/misprint, on page 6. The text indicates that between the firing of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, there was a period of 8 months. That should be 18. Aside from that, I found the book informative and, of course, I learned something I didn't know before. I was amazed to learn that, after the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, granting suffrage, in 1870, black men were the majority of voters in five southern states. I would love to learn more about some of the men portrayed on page 19. I also had not heard about the practice of leasing convicts. I knew that they were put to work, but I didn't realize that they were leased. I also didn't know that there was such opposition among black leaders to the ideas of Booker T. Washington. He's another person I must read more about. The story that touched me the most, however, was the story of Kenneth Clark on pages 52-53. How sad that children should be ashamed to acknowledge their race. I hope that this country never goes back to those shameful, hateful days. Now I've got to read the first and the third books in this series. Highly recommended!

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding historical work that is written for children. The historical facts have been extensively researched and the information of famous African Americans amazing. The illustrations are fabulous while the book will be a family heirloom.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda in-between a children's book and a chapter book. Lots of good info, and fun little asides adults might appreciate.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another picture book history from an author I follow. This is a good one but didn't grab me. But it had a good mix of text and song and poem and history. And the art added to the work.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book with beautiful illustrations. I felt it ended abruptly and for whatever reason, before the Civil Rights Movement.

[Phannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids loved the stories and pictures in this book.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent Black History Month/Juneteenth/literally any time of year read/resource.

[Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good resource for teaching from reconstruction to the end of school segregation.