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tayler_liberationislit 's review for:
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
by Alex Haley
Reading Roots and it has been an emotional journey for me. I pushed through with this book since I couldn't watch the Hulu series. I think for me, throughout this process I have experienced three main emotions.
I had the realization as I was reading that slavery books are triggering for me. Reading about the atrocities of slavery and reliving the moment activates a feeling deep inside of me, one that seems connected to my ancestors.
The second feeling is this tremendous sense of guilt. Have you heard of white guilt? I think I have that in terms of slavery as a black person. I feel guilty for things outside of my control that happened so long ago that I am having a hard time coming to terms that I benefited from slavery.
The last feeling I had was an overwhelming sense of wanting to connect with African roots, but I also feel conflicted about that. Who am I to claim a culture when I’m unsure of which one to claim? It’s one thing to claim something, but it’s another thing to be claimed.
I had the realization as I was reading that slavery books are triggering for me. Reading about the atrocities of slavery and reliving the moment activates a feeling deep inside of me, one that seems connected to my ancestors.
The second feeling is this tremendous sense of guilt. Have you heard of white guilt? I think I have that in terms of slavery as a black person. I feel guilty for things outside of my control that happened so long ago that I am having a hard time coming to terms that I benefited from slavery.
The last feeling I had was an overwhelming sense of wanting to connect with African roots, but I also feel conflicted about that. Who am I to claim a culture when I’m unsure of which one to claim? It’s one thing to claim something, but it’s another thing to be claimed.