Negroes On The March

Abducted from her West African village at the age of eleven and sold as a slave in the American South, Aminata Diallo thinks only of freedom - and of finding her way home again.After escaping the plantation, torn from her husband and child, she passes through Manhattan in the chaos of the Revolutionary War, is shipped to Nova Scotia, and then joins a group of freed slaves on a harrowing return odyssey to Africa. Lawrence Hill's epic novel, winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, spans three continents and six decades to bring to life a dark and shameful chapter in our history through the story of one brave and resourceful woman.

Censorship and book burning are still present in our lives. Lawrence Hill shares his experiences of how ignorance and the fear of ideas led a group in the Netherlands to burn the cover of his widely successful novel, The Book of Negroes, in 2011. Why do books continue to ignite such strong reactions in people in the age of the Internet? Is banning, censoring, or controlling book distribution ever justified? Hill illustrates his ideas with anecdotes and lists names of Canadian writers who faced censorship challenges in the twenty-first century, inviting conversation between those on opposite sides of these contentious issues. All who are interested in literature, freedom of expression, and human rights will enjoy reading Hill's provocative essay.

A southern black community's struggle to defend itself against racist groups.

From its first publication in 2007, Lawrence Hill's masterpiece, The Book of Negroes, has touched readers around the world with its unforgettable story. Now a six-part CBC mini-series starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Louis Gossett Jr., and Ben Chaplin, this beloved novel tells the story of Aminata, brilliantly played by Anajanue Ellis. Abducted as an eleven-year-old from her village in Africa and enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata survives using midwifery skills learned at her mother's side. When she has the chance to register her name in the "Book of Negroes," a historic British military ledger, Aminata secures a spot on a ship sailing from Manhattan to Nova Scotia and eventually sails to Sierra Leone in a back-to-Africa odyssey inspired by historical events. The winner of numerous awards, The Book of Negroes has become a classic novel of hope, love, despair and survival like none other.