The full title of today's selection is Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo." In it, Zora Neale Hurston chronicles the story of Cudjo Lewis, who in 1927 was the only person alive who could tell the story of the last slave ship known to have made the transatlantic journey, 50 years after the slave trade was outlawed. Hurston tells of the many times she visited Lewis, and not only allows the story to be told mostly in his own words, but also makes note of his behavior, his sometimes standoffish nature, and his ultimate desire to be back in Africa.Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction title in which Hurston interviewed Cudjo Lewis (African name Oluale Kossola) on several occasions beginning in 1927. At the time Lewis was 86 years old, but as Hurston notes, he had a remarkable memory. Having been taken from his home in Africa at the age of 19, Lewis could still recall details of his capture, as well as his journey across the Atlantic in the Clotilda, the last known slaver to have made the journey to Africa and back with the explicit purpose of trading slaves. And once Lewis' narrative moves past the journey, he then talks about his time as a slave in a strange land, being granted freedom, and then managing to build a life for himself in Africatown (Plateau), Alabama. What makes Lewis' story different from many slave narratives is the fact that it begins in Africa, and does not include any political agenda. Hurston interjects here and there to set up the scene of each interview, making note of what Lewis was doing that day, what his mood was like, what they were eating, and how he would often not say much, but instead go about his day or stare off thoughtfully in the distance. Using his own words as well as his vernacular, Hurston lets Lewis speak for himself. Also, something else that separates this story from many others is the important detail that Lewis was sold to slave traders by other Africans, something that many African-Americans have a hard time reconciling, including many of Hurston's contemporaries of the Harlem Renaissance. Original and thoughtful, Barracoon is another book to add to Hurston's already impressive body of work.
My Verdict: Slave narratives can often be hard to get through, but mercifully, that was not the case with Barracoon. Maybe it is something to do with how short it is (clocking in at under 200 pages, and this includes the foreword, afterword, and appendix), or how little Hurston inserted herself into the story, but it ended up being a surprisingly quick read. Even with Lewis' vernacular dominating the pages, his knack for storytelling makes it more interesting than diffuclt. Of course, it is still a story about slavery and the slave trade, and perhaps even more upsetting is the fact that it is about slave traders who successfully completed a trip across the Middle Passage 50 years after it was outlawed. And what upsets Lewis the most is how he was sold by his own people in Africa, a land that he had a desire to return to. The book jacket asserts that this story is an important contribution to history and culture, and it is absolutely right. It may be nearly a century since Hurston began her interviews of Lewis, but the story is finally here and readily accessible to anyone who wishes to explore it.
Favorite Moment: When Lewis successfully sues a railroad company, though he never saw any of the settlement money.
Favorite Quote: "The white people had held my people in slavery in America. They had bought us, it is true and exploited us. But the inescapable fact that stuck in my craw, was: my people had sold me and the white people had bought me. That did away with the folklore I had been brought up on - that the white people had gone to Africa, waved a red handkerchief at the Africans and lured them aboard ship and sailed away." - Hurston after three months of association with Lewis.
Recommended Reading: The work Hurston is most known for is perhaps Their Eyes Were Watching God. I also recommend The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward.
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