Historical Notes and Attributions for Br’er Rabbit’s Boy
My decision to write Br’er Rabbit’s Boy was inspired by my search for well-written, historically accurate, and culturally sensitive literature to support the eighth grade curriculum at the middle school level. History acquires meaning and changes the future only when students can see its impact on humanity, our culture, our laws, and our attitudes towards present conflicts and communities.
Young readers deserve the same level of research, documentation, character development that inform all of the best historical writing. My writing draws on the rich supply of original fugitive slave narratives written in the nineteenth century, and as my notes indicate, I have drawn many details from their accounts. But these stories were written by adults looking back on their childhoods, and they were often written as appeals directed to white abolitionist audiences.
I have searched additional oral narratives collected by the Works Progress Administration, the mostly unpublished narratives and historical sites documented under President Bill Clinton’s 1990’s mandate to preserve and document the work of the Underground Railroad, and the memoirs and scholarship of contemporary American writers about race in America– works such as Mia Bay’s The White Image in the Black Mind and newly published biographies including the thoughts and insights of historical figures such as Rosa Parks and Ida B. Wells.
I have visited visited historical museums, interviewed elderly residents, and walked through the forests, caves, and even hiding places that I have tried to bring to life for readers.
I have tried to bring readers a sense of the injustices of slavery, kidnapping, whippings, and the destruction of families, as well as the determination of each person to claim her or his dignity as a free human being. I’ve also balanced that perspective with that of the generous, loving humans who sought to change the future. I’ve even tried to understand and represent the prejudices and inherited attitudes that continue to fuel injustice and racial hatred. Perhaps recognizing and understanding the roots of these attitudes can help us to counteract them.
Reimagining the experiences from a child’s point of view and making them accessible to readers of all ages, I have set my story in a real place and time, and incorporated authentic historical events and scenes.
Chapter Twenty-one-Twenty-five Notes