The Book of Negroes

The Book of Negroes

• Genre: Fiction; historical
• Originally Published: 2007
• Reading Level/Interest: College/adult
• Structure/Length: 4 books; approx. 511 pages; approx. 15 hours, 46 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: At 11 years old, Amanita Diallo is kidnapped from her village of Bayo, enslaved, and sold. Enduring barbaric acts, she also builds a family, makes a life in Nova Scotia, works with other abolitionists, and dreams of returning to Bayo.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Slavery, rape, kidnapping, generational trauma, systemic oppression, trauma associated with the African Diaspora

Lawrence Hill, Author

• Bio: Born 1957 in Canada; loved running; earned BA from Université Laval and MA at Johns Hopkins; taught college; worked as reporter; mentored in adult education programs; works as activist; volunteers in Niger, Cameroon, Mali; is on advisory council for Book Clubs for Inmates; writes novels, essays, memoirs; The Book of Negroes adapted into television miniseries; National Magazine Award for Is Africa’s Pain Black America’s Burden? (2006); Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012); Hamilton Literary Award for Blood: The Stuff of Life (2015)
• Other Works: Some Great Thing (1992); Any Known Blood (1997); Blood: The Stuff of Life (2013); The Illegal (2015)
• Awards: Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize (2007); Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (2008); Winning selection for CBC Radio's Canada Reads 2009

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Storytelling
• The Importance of Names and Naming
• Migration
• Identity: Racial, Geopolitical/National, Philosophical/Spiritual

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the cultural and social contexts around names and their importance to people impacted by the African Diaspora.
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Storytelling and Identity: Racial, Geopolitical/National, Philosophical/Spiritual. 
• Use note-taking to track historical movements and facts while reading.
• Use data collection and compilation of narratives to convey themes and narrative techniques used in the novel.