John Brown, Black History, and Black Childhood: Contextualizing Lorenz Graham’s John Brown Books
Lorenz Graham wrote two children’s books about the (in)famous abolitionist, John Brown—a picture book, <i>John Brown’s Raid: A Picture History of the Attack on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia</i> (1972) and a biography for young adults, <i>John Brown: A Cry for Freedom</i> (1980). B...
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Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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Series: | Humanities |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/5/124 |
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author | Brigitte Fielder |
author_facet | Brigitte Fielder |
author_sort | Brigitte Fielder |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Lorenz Graham wrote two children’s books about the (in)famous abolitionist, John Brown—a picture book, <i>John Brown’s Raid: A Picture History of the Attack on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia</i> (1972) and a biography for young adults, <i>John Brown: A Cry for Freedom</i> (1980). Both books recount a history of Brown’s life and antislavery work, situated within Brown’s African American context and recounted from a Black perspective. While Graham’s books are exceptional in their extended treatment of this historic figure for a child audience, they are not unprecedented. This essay situates Graham’s children’s biographies of Brown in the long history of Black writers’ work on him—for both adults and children. Reading Graham’s John Brown in this context shows how Graham follows familiar traditions for encountering Brown within the larger context of Black freedom struggles. Graham’s books follow a rich tradition of presenting him to Black children. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:07:25Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-121614d63205489b96f0827cf2b44380 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2076-0787 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:07:25Z |
publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
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series | Humanities |
spelling | doaj.art-121614d63205489b96f0827cf2b443802023-11-24T00:24:50ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872022-10-0111512410.3390/h11050124John Brown, Black History, and Black Childhood: Contextualizing Lorenz Graham’s John Brown BooksBrigitte Fielder0University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USALorenz Graham wrote two children’s books about the (in)famous abolitionist, John Brown—a picture book, <i>John Brown’s Raid: A Picture History of the Attack on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia</i> (1972) and a biography for young adults, <i>John Brown: A Cry for Freedom</i> (1980). Both books recount a history of Brown’s life and antislavery work, situated within Brown’s African American context and recounted from a Black perspective. While Graham’s books are exceptional in their extended treatment of this historic figure for a child audience, they are not unprecedented. This essay situates Graham’s children’s biographies of Brown in the long history of Black writers’ work on him—for both adults and children. Reading Graham’s John Brown in this context shows how Graham follows familiar traditions for encountering Brown within the larger context of Black freedom struggles. Graham’s books follow a rich tradition of presenting him to Black children.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/5/124John BrownLorenz GrahamAfrican Americanchildren’s literature19th-centuryBlack children |
spellingShingle | Brigitte Fielder John Brown, Black History, and Black Childhood: Contextualizing Lorenz Graham’s John Brown Books Humanities John Brown Lorenz Graham African American children’s literature 19th-century Black children |
title | John Brown, Black History, and Black Childhood: Contextualizing Lorenz Graham’s John Brown Books |
title_full | John Brown, Black History, and Black Childhood: Contextualizing Lorenz Graham’s John Brown Books |
title_fullStr | John Brown, Black History, and Black Childhood: Contextualizing Lorenz Graham’s John Brown Books |
title_full_unstemmed | John Brown, Black History, and Black Childhood: Contextualizing Lorenz Graham’s John Brown Books |
title_short | John Brown, Black History, and Black Childhood: Contextualizing Lorenz Graham’s John Brown Books |
title_sort | john brown black history and black childhood contextualizing lorenz graham s john brown books |
topic | John Brown Lorenz Graham African American children’s literature 19th-century Black children |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/11/5/124 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT brigittefielder johnbrownblackhistoryandblackchildhoodcontextualizinglorenzgrahamsjohnbrownbooks |