By Research Librarian Jessica McClain

Portsmouth’s Black history begins over 350 years ago in 1645—dating back almost as far as the area’s European history. Though many of their early stories involve enslavement and marginalization, Portsmouth’s Black residents built families and communities, founded institutions, and served city, state and nation in a variety of ways. These encounters have been and continue to be integral to our immediate community and to the broader story of our country. Please take some time this month to read Black stories from Black voices as we specifically remember their importance within the American Experience.

Find the listed titles on display in the Sawtelle Reading Room through the month of February.

Juneteenth: A Novel

FICTION

This novel from the author of Invisible Man (1952) was compiled from notes and writings left at the time of his death in 1994. While the resulting book is incomplete, the message remains timeless and profound as Ellison draws from black cultural heritage in his use of southern vernacular language and call and response patterns, tying blackness into what it truly means to be an American.

Ellison, Ralph. Juneteenth: A Novel. PS3555 .L625 J86 1999

Homegoing: A Novel

FICTION

This debut novel from Ghanian-American author Yaa Gyasi follows the descendants of two Ghanian sisters. One sister marries into wealth and power while the other is sold into slavery. The story brings follows the two threads between Ghana and the United States, exploring themes that include the slave trade, British colonialism, American slavery, the US Civil War, and the Great Migration. Simultaneously epic and intimate, this exploration of the weight of history on the individual experience shouldn’t be missed.

Gyasi, Yaa. Homegoing: A Novel. PS3607 .Y37 H66 2016

The Underground Railroad: A Novel

FICTION

This award-winning novel (2016 National Book Award, 2017 Pulitzer Prize) re-imagines the Underground Railroad as an actual railroad operated by conductors and engineers on tracks and trains running under the earth of the American South. Though deeply rooted in the tradition of the slave narrative, Whitehead gives us a new and important view of enslavement and the way its influence continues to the present day.

Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad: A Novel. PS3573 .H4768 U53 2016

Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge

BIOGRAPHY

In this fascinating biography, we learn the story of Ona Judge, an enslaved person held by then-President George and Martha Washington, and her escape from service in Philadelphia, PA to freedom in Portsmouth, NH. It explores the steps taken by the Washingtons to circumvent Philadelphia law which required enslaved persons to be set free after six months and their steps to regain Ona following her departure. Washington sought to involve Portsmouth natives in his hunt, including the Langdons and the Whipples. The story is a good reminder of the reach of slavery from Mont Vernon, Virginia to New Hampshire.

Dunbar, Erica Armstrong. Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge.

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family

BIOGRAPHY

Gordon-Reed presents an immersive family portrait in the award winning (2008 National Book Award, 2009 Pulitzer Prize) biography of the Hemings Family. She traces their origins in 1700s Virginia, through their connection with Founding Father Thomas Jefferson and his family, up to their dispersal following Jefferson’s death in 1826. This unique family history provides insight into the complexities and contradictions of American slavery while addressing the full personhood of each family member.

Gordon-Reed, Annette. The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.

The Age of Phillis

BIOGRAPHY

Poet and author Honore Fanonne Jeffers presents an extraordinarily well-researched glimpse into the complicated life and times of African American poet Phillis Wheatley. The political, philosophical, intellectual, and religious upheaval of late colonial America, as well as Wheatley’s relationship to and among black people is presented in verse. Although often painful, the work presents a passionate glimpse of the poet as she deserves to be seen.

Jeffers, Honore Fanonne. The Age of Phillis.

Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail: A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Portsmouth, New Hampshire

NON-FICTION

New Hampshire’s African heritage dates back almost as far as its European heritage. And much of that history centers in Portsmouth. If you have not yet explored Portsmouth’s Black Heritage Trail, I encourage you to do so. The book offers a self-guided walking tour that focuses on downtown locations but also includes sites outside of the city center as well as beyond our boundaries in neighboring communities. Sites include the African Burial Ground Memorial Park on Chestnut Street, the Elizabeth Virgil House on Brewster Street, and the Ona Maria Judge Staines home in Greenland, NH.

Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail: A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. F42 .P8 B3 2018

Black Portsmouth: Three Centuries of African-American Heritage

NON-FICTION

Cunningham and Sammons offer a comprehensive look at the history of Black life in Portsmouth beginning in 1648. While rooted in the lives of individuals including coopers, mariners, teachers, preachers and more, the text explores the development of Portsmouth’s Black community amidst a changing national landscape.

Sammons, Mark J., and Valerie Cunningham. Black Portsmouth: Three Centuries of African-American Heritage. F44 .P8 S25 2004

Between the World and Me

NON-FICTION

Author Toni Morrison notes “This is required reading,” in her assessment of Coates’ letter to his son, and she is correct. This stunning combination of personal narrative, reimagined history, and reportage explores the author’s recognition of his place in the world while also offering an unparalleled vision of direction for the future.

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. E185.615 .C6335 2015

Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo”

NON-FICTION

This posthumously released work by Harlem Renaissance era writer and cultural anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston involves Cudjo Lewis, a survivor of the last-known transatlantic slaver, the Clothilda. Lewis arrived in the United States 50 years after the slave trade was outlawed and his story, told in his voice, provides an invaluable contribution to our historical and cultural awareness of this time and practice.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo.”  E444 .L49 H87 2018

PHOTO: Composite of participants in “Lift Every Voice,” an oral history project begun in 1989 with African-American elders living on the New Hampshire seacoast. Valerie Cunningham conducted the interviews and Kelvin E. Edwards was the photographer. From left to right were the following people: (TOP) Geraldine Cousins Palmer, Jane Cooper Faust, and Doris Moore; (MIDDLE) Clarence W. Cunningham, Hazel Sinclair, and Rosary B. Cooper; (BOTTOM) Priscilla Reid Wesson, Henry Pettiford, and Frances Satchell. PS2971_01 to PS2971_09.