Anthony’s Comments (group member since Feb 04, 2019)

Anthony’s comments from the Diversity & Equality Lit. group.

“I die a king but I not be no slave” This quote really stood out to me from the book. Which would you choose ? As a whole the book being told from the perspective of a person who lived through it all: being in African, being in slavery, being a Blackman in America; was definitely something new for me. Literally ripped from his land and brought on a one way trip to far away place much different then anything he’d ever known.

As I was reading through all the misfortunes that happened to him, I wondered could he ever really get away? Also, the discrimination from the American Americans reminded me much of the discrimination I’ve seen between people from the Caribbean and African Americans in the USA. “Savages, no manners, lazy, etc.” Are many of the insults shared in between those too groups. In the Cudjo sons fighting I saw my own uncles and aunts physically fighting as they had to when they first came to this country. There seems to be a history and cycle the oppressed being the oppressor. Check out the song “High for hours” by J. Cole for more on how this has played out in American history.

I’m not sure how I feel about the writing being done in the way that he spoke. It added style and authenticity that’s for sure but it also at times made him seem wild, primitive and unintelligent. All in all, great read from a great perspective. Although I’ll never be able to fully understand Cudjo’s pain I can sympathize with it and it too makes me long for home.