"African Town" by Iren Latham and Charles Waters

 African Town By Irene Latham and Charles Waters

Originally Published in 2022

Summary: African Town tells the story of the last American Slave ship that brought Africans to America to be enslaved. It follows over 14 different perspectives of different people involved with the ship including the ship itself. It follows the lives of the africans lives from before they were taken, while they were traveling on the ship and ultimately when they were enslaved to when they bought land from their enslavers to begin creating a life for themselves in the USA. The story shares the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and overall perspectives of the people as they try to make sense of the lives they lead. 

This would be a great novel for any secondary education student. I particulary feel that 7th graders would be ready to read this novel and gain perspective of all the players involved in the enslavement of Africans in the middle 19th century USA. The major themes of racism and slavery could be challenging for some students but with proper care for themselves this could be a great read for any student. 

Teaching Considerations: 

This Novel would be great to look at to show student show to organize multiple perspectives inside a story. With over 14 different characters/narrators each telling their story each passage sheds light on the thoughts and actions of all the players involved with the last (illegal) capture and enslavement of africans in the United states to the then establishment of Africatown (now Plateu, Alabama). The novel travels effortlessly between both 1st and 3rd points of view which for students will be important to recognize and understand so they can keep track of the plot, narratives and perspectives of characters within the novel. 

One of the close read passages I would recommend to have students look at is Clotilda Conundrum. Told from the perspective of the ship the enslaved africans are brought on, it gives a unique point of view. The ship not only would be a great example of personification, but makes for a great case for people to see how some 3rd person points of view can be omiscient even while inanimate. In the chapter it reads "Foster and Meaher are both smart, driven men-- one an immigrant, the other a son of an immigrant--... what good they could do if they weren't so arrogant, so bent on profit and breaking the law." (p. 84-85) These few sentences allow the reader to see through the eyes of the ship. To put an objective viewpoint that can still determine the morality of the situation that the ship has become part of. 

Good novel to look at dialect. Even on the first couple pages you can see great examples. " Someday maybe you will see de world de way I have seen it in Bante. Then you will know how de sun kisses de earth, melts like honey, over de land--" p.22 The use of de gives an auditory sound to the words on the page. Just from this small dialect presentation in the novel we can get a better understanding of where the person is coming from. This small detail is important to look at because how the words appear on the page directly influences the readers perspective and clues the reader in on who and what ethnicity the person speaking is. 

This was a very interesting and fun novel. The unique perspectives, alternating viewpoints, and overall deeply moving story, make for a read that would have any person asking for more. The novel sheds light on the situations of the enslaved africans in such a way that humanizes the people behind the enslavement. Each person has their own story to tell and ultimately is able to drive their own story after the end of the civil war. 

A novel that people might like if they like this novel is "Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?" This Novel like African Town, is told from multiple perspectives about two young friends Aurora and Frenchie. Frenchie is neurodivergent non verbal boy with autism who finds frienship with Aurora. The was the story shifts viewpoints feels very similar to this novel. Though the themes are different the constant shifting of perspective really allows the reader to get a clear and wholistic picture of the story. Like this novel, definitely worth the read.