Have you ever questioned why most of the books you read in school were written by white authors? Yeah, same here. I never really understood why we were often taught about worldly issues through the lens of these white authors. It raises the question of who is in charge of telling these stories and makes us, the readers, responsible for hearing out all narratives to address this. In support of the Black community and educating ourselves on systemic racism, I sought out alternative narratives to approaching our nation’s history.
This week I decided to pick up The Good Lord Bird by James McBride after one of my mentors claimed that it was “devastatingly good” and that I simply just had to read it. We are taken on a journey as the book follows Henry Shackleford, a slave, who somehow gets roped into John Brown’s army as they prepare for their attack on Harper’s Ferry. Some parts of the book remain true to history and the rest has been left up to the author’s imaginative mind as we meet historical icons such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas.
While this book focuses on slavery and depicts the horrific lives that the Black community had to face, it finds a way to be funny, satirical, and enlightening. John Brown’s character is absolutely incredible; we are given such a well developed character that we are able to picture him in all his glory. While he is as crazy as our history books write him out to be, his determination to “free the Negro man” is noble and pure. It is not often that we see devout Christian, white men advocating for equality and freedom; in our modern world, it almost seems like a contradiction. Our main character, Henry, is able to call on John Brown’s faults and give a better perspective on how the Black community felt about him. What is striking is that we are learning about this world through the lens of a young black man who is mistaken for a girl! Slightly confusing but it plays to the complexities of the whole system of slavery and the people involved.
We are not only looking at the struggle of black men in an oppressed world; we are also looking at the oppression of black women. The Good Lord Bird gives us unfiltered honesty in a deeply untruthful world.
So instead of reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird, two books written about slavery through the eyes of white children, choose to read this book. Encourage others to read this book.
The Good Lord Bird is the narrative that should have been included in our education. I suggest you pick it up and learn what you’ve been missing.