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kaiouelios's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.25
kellie_00's review against another edition
4.5
A heartbreaking book but so necessary to read! Loved how the last chapter talked about the problems we are facing today!
loganmedrano's review against another edition
3.0
I wish this book had been much longer, however, I thoroughly enjoyed Dadzie’s writing style and would definitely read her future works. The length may be due to the subject matter and the fact that a lot of the information about women, particularly enslaved African women and their resistance, was simply not recorded (or not recorded well). I cannot and do not fault Dadzie for that. However, she mentions several important female figures and their accomplishments rather briefly. There are further readings in the Notes section, which I greatly appreciate, but it would have been nice if she had gone into more detail.
I highly recommend the book talk Dadzie did with The People’s Forum. It’s wonderful hearing her speak further on her work. It’s on YouTube!
I highly recommend the book talk Dadzie did with The People’s Forum. It’s wonderful hearing her speak further on her work. It’s on YouTube!
comradebiblio's review against another edition
5.0
An important corrective to the pernicious false notion that enslaved Black women were seen as "non-women". Stella Dadzie demonstrates the numerous ways in which enslaved women were recognised as women, treated differently from men on the basis of their female sex and subjected to particular forms of exploitation and abuse precisely because they were known to be women. Women's resistance, too, was shaped by their womanhood and this was also noted very closely by the slavers who sought to ward against and punish this woman-resistance.
Frankly, the very idea that this could not have been the case is absurd and would be laughable were the consequences of it not so damaging to Black women today and so dishonouring of our beloved fore-mothers.
Frankly, the very idea that this could not have been the case is absurd and would be laughable were the consequences of it not so damaging to Black women today and so dishonouring of our beloved fore-mothers.
dear_old_world's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5
A couple weeks ago I read the graphic novel "Wake", hoping to learn more about the acts of resistance carried out by enslaved women. The book had nice artwork, and I learnt a little, and the emotional connection to the topic was palpable, but I ultimately was a bit underwhelmed in terms of actually learning about the history.
This book is exactly what I hoped "Wake" would be. A well-referenced, academic, but not overly academic piece of work, detailing what little evidence we have of this history and yet still managing to be quite fruitful in its information.
Please be warned though that this is genuinely a difficult read. The absolute horror and cruelty contained in these pages cannot be understated. I recommend reading it slowly, bit by bit.
This book is exactly what I hoped "Wake" would be. A well-referenced, academic, but not overly academic piece of work, detailing what little evidence we have of this history and yet still managing to be quite fruitful in its information.
Please be warned though that this is genuinely a difficult read. The absolute horror and cruelty contained in these pages cannot be understated. I recommend reading it slowly, bit by bit.
aaronjdilkes's review against another edition
5.0
Thought it was great, a hard mission to fulfil the aim of the book, which is to fill the gaps caused by hundreds of years of white washing and centring europeans and white Americans at the centre of the movement for abolition. Dadzie does a great job at giving black women back their voice and their autonomy, constantly reiterating the point that black female slaves cannot be reduced to docile, sexualised beings that were indifferent and simply consigned to their fate as slaves. Consistently smashing the popular belief of women's "luck" in the system of slavery, that they got away lightly in comparison to their male counterparts, Dadzie delves into the various ways that the slave system uniquely punished women and therefore the way that women had huge vested interest in abolition and the ways in which they were uniquely situated to bring the system to its knees. In particular, the chapter surrounding research into the ways in which women, defiant to the interests of the slave owners and the slave system as a whole, managed to reduce the population of slaves through the reclamation of their body autonomy and a determination not to allow any human to be born into the system of slavery.