What’s Missing from “Classics”: An Authentic Voice? By Destiny Sanders (Class of 2019) If I walked into Barnes and Nobles and asked what books I should read that discuss slavery or the African American Experience, the worker would most likely suggest The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, or a more contemporary novel, The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett. These books would suffice my basic needs, but they are lacking an important aspect: the authentic voice that only comes from non-fiction. You may say, "How are these novels not authentic?" The authors created the stories themselves. But Arthur Mitchell composed an entire memoir by compiling stories he heard as a child. He did not create names nor places; they are all authentic and have been historically verified. These authentic voices offer a more complete picture than fiction can. Arthur Mitchell was born in Irontown, Louisiana, and he heard slave stories while he grew up. Did Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, or Kathryn Stockett grow up hearing the effect of slavery on their family? These authors may been abolitionists or anti-slavery, but they have different perspectives from someone like Arthur Mitchell, whose own family was sold, beaten, and degraded. These authors created their own version of slavery, slave actions, and their dialect. They may tell stories that are true, but they lack the personal connection between the author and characters in the stories. What Love Can Do is an unbiased, unfiltered form of recollected stories of slavery and freedom in New Orleans. This book is one of the most underrated books to ever be written. It contains 100% truth and real-life experiences, yet novels such as Huckleberry Finn and Uncle Tom’s Cabin are considered “classics.” Although these “classics” are authentic, they lack the same authentic voice. If a novel, which is fiction, is regarded as a “classic,” why can’t What Love Can Do be a part of the same classification as the “classics” that discuss slavery? Instead of only reading a book such as Huckleberry Finn, why don’t students read What Love Can Do? Why can’t most curricula contain both voices and perspectives? Certainly Twain is an amazing author and his technique and symbolism are immaculate, but he is not the only person that talks about slavery. Why is it not possible to read both and compare and contrast the characters and techniques used? Underrepresented literature not only is an injustice to the reader but also to the literary world. Books like What Love Can Do contain more than an artificial theme. They contain real-life challenges that a group of people have endured, which helps the reader and listener make better decisions in life. It is nice to have “classics,” but it would be great if the originality and authenticity from a book such as What Love Can Do is incorporated into curricula and becomes more well-known in the literary world.
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www.schooltube.com/video/8d4ad09f251740a4b112 . Click the link above to hear some of our students discuss the challenges of reading a historical document differently than they would a literary one. One of the biggest challenges was we couldn't read this book as we would a piece of literature, analyzing it for style, symbolism, structure, etc. As Mrs. Nolan explained when she visited class, we had to view it as a historical document, an oral history that had been written down. That presented some challenges in that the stories overlap in the narrative, but once we learned to step back and see the big picture of what love can do, we could then see how all the story threads weave together to form a complete tapestry. By Jennifer Richard After our first reading of What Love Can Do, my students' main question was "Why don't more people know about this book?" The simple answer was because of it was self-published and hasn't had the benefit of a full marketing campaign. Their response was that they wanted the world to read this book, to hear the voices of generations of people who have never been heard and could easily be lost. That's how they got the idea to start this blog and our social media campaign. Our goal is simple: we want you to read the book, and we want you to tell someone else to read it. How can you help? 1. You can follow us on Twitter: @WLCDProject https://twitter.com/WLCDProject 2. You can buy the book: www.balboapress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.aspx?bookid=SKU-000531699 https://www.amazon.com/What-Love-Can-Recollected-Surrounding/dp/145254624X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1508876640&sr=8-3 3. You can read the book. 4. You can talk about the book: Tweet your experiences, tell a friend, pass your copy along to anyone who might read it. We want the world to hear what love can do, and you can help. By Maddy Murret (Class of 2018) and Katie Kitchen (Class of 2019) When the book What Love Can Do was first assigned, all ten of the students in the class were hesitant and slightly irritated that we had another book to read for school. We moaned and groaned as we wrote when each section of chapters was due in our assignment pads, but little did we realize the impact of the book would have on us. Attending an all-girls Catholic school, we have been taught the meaning of love and what God has to offer, yet we rarely appreciate everything He was given us. This book opened our eyes to see the true meaning behind what love can do if we allow our hearts to receive it. After all, love has the power to heal the ongoing effects of racism and inequality which was caused by slavery. We all adored this book, and we knew that it needed more recognition. We were blessed to have the editor of the book, Mrs. Gayle Nolan, visit our class where she discussed her dream of having the book more known throughout the world. As a class, we then decided to develop her dreams and make them a reality. We decided to create a project called ‘The What Love Can Do Project’ in an attempt to recognize her hard work along with this as-yet unheard voice of slavery and healing in our hometown of New Orleans. We hope through this website that we can accomplish Mrs. Nolan’s vision and have the world read about what love can do in a community and in each person.
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AuthorsTen students, a teacher, and an editor trying to make dreams a reality. Archives
December 2017
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