Enslaved people's culture, jazz roots shine in lyrical book.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a little
No violence is shown, but it's implied in images and mentioned in verse. An image of a White man on horseback with a weapon and three dogs, going after (unseen) runaway slaves: "Run away, run away. Some slaves dared. / Two more days to Congo Square." Another scene of a White man holding a whip as enslaved people work in the field: "The dreaded lash, too much to bear. / Four more days to Congo Square." Also reference to the despair that enslaved Black people experienced: "Spirituals rose from the despair. / Three more days to Congo Square."
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Poetic verse and illustrations show some of the jobs carried out by enslaved workers on plantations and refer to the terrible conditions, mentioning lashings and attempts to run away. Celebrates the joyous release on Sundays in Congo Square and the different instruments, dancing, and traditions shared there. A foreword and author's note give more historical facts, context. A glossary defines some of the language younger kids may not have come across, such as "commune" and "ardent," as well as farm terms like "prune" and "slop" and instruments including the "banza," a gourd instrument that's the ancestor of the banjo.
Positive Messages
a lot
Gathering with loved ones and expressing yourself and your heritage can bring a sense of freedom. It's important to have a place of safety and spiritual release. Continuing traditions can help keep them alive, and sharing culture with others can develop new forms of art. Those with power can away take some freedoms, but the freedom of spirit and hope is strong.
Positive Role Models
a lot
The enslaved people in the book work hard on the plantations from Monday to Saturday but express their creativity, spirituality, and traditions together on Sunday, where they also use their skills -- such as crafting, hunting, and farming -- to earn money at the market. Both the foreword and afterword make the connection between the music of Congo Square and modern jazz, crediting enslaved Black people and these gatherings of culture with the roots of this genre of music.
Diverse Representations
a lot
The hard day-to-day work of the enslaved Black people is shown, as is the threat of potential violence from the White men who run the plantation. But the book constantly refers back to Congo Square as the central theme, where the people express their identity and freedom through creativity, spirituality, traditions, and community, and use skills such as crafting, farming, and hunting to make money at the market. The influence of these gatherings of African and other Black cultures -- from both free and enslaved people -- is recognized in the development of modern jazz music.
Parents need to know that Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie earned both a 2017 Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award Honor. It's an exuberant historical picture book that celebrates the place where, starting in 1817, enslaved people in New Orleans could come together to dance, sing, and play music on Sundays. The story is told in spare rhyming verse and folk art-style paintings that contrast the hard, exhausting workweek on the plantation with the joyful gathering on the one day of rest. It's an engaging, accessible intro to the subject of slavery and the roots of America's one indigenous music genre: jazz. The poetry is lyrical yet doesn't sugarcoat the harsh realities of the enslaved workers' lives. No violence is shown, but there's an image of a White man on horseback with a weapon and three dogs, going after (unseen) enslaved people who escaped the plantation. ("Run away, run away. Some slaves dared. / Two more days to Congo Square.") Another scene shows a White man with a whip as the enslaved work in the field: "The dreaded lash, too much to bear. / Four more days to Congo Square." A foreword and author's note give more historical facts and context and describe Congo Square today. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was AMAZING and very educational, however I could not watch with my two young sons It was extremely scary and violent. A true depiction of life at that time... my great great grandfather happened to share some of the same experience because he witnessed most of it. It's great seeing such representation in the media.
I am glad that there's information about enslavement and other. All or most of our elders that can tell us about this historical events are not living. And recently up to date there was a Caucasian women who reacted to black Americans having a barbecue in the park, because they were exercising their Congo Square Freedom to enjoy. Thanks to update I now have insight to how rough our ancestors had to undergo.
What's the Story?
FREEDOM IN CONGO SQUARE shows the hard work carried out by enslaved workers in New Orleans -- feeding animals, plowing fields, making beds, baking bread, cleaning clothes, scrubbing floors, picking crops, doing chores -- from Monday to Saturday leading up to their one day of legal rest on a Sunday. That's when they gather at Congo Square, where they're able to commune with other enslaved and free people, celebrate their African heritage and speak their native languages, sing traditional songs, and play music on the instruments of their homelands: "They rejoiced as if they had no cares; /half day, half free in Congo Square. / This piece of earth was a world apart. / Congo Square was freedom's heart."
This lyrical, beautifully illustrated picture book contrasts harsh realities of enslaved workers' plantation lives in the 1800s with the joyful release of Sunday gatherings in a New Orleans square. Freedom in Congo Square captures the hard work and constraint that the enslaved people experienced six days a week, as well as the celebratory figures of people singing and dancing and feeling a sense of spiritual freedom as they celebrate their heritage on Sundays in a legally designated free zone.
Illustrator R. Gregory Christie's folk art-style paintings in a palette of mostly orange and ochre are warm and inviting. Kids will be drawn in by the art and come away having learned some significant history, including the link between those Sundays and the development of New Orleans jazz.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the slaves' lives are pictured in Freedom in Congo Square. What did their weeks look like day-to-day in the lead-up to Congo Square?
What does it mean to be free? In what way did Congo Square offer a sense of freedom for enslaved people?
What did you learn about the roots of jazz music from Freedom in Congo Square? Look up some New Orleans music online, or ask an adult to play a jazz recording for you. Think about how that music grew out of the enslaved Africans' music.
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By Regan McMahon
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