Teaching U.S Enslavement to K-12 Students: Middle Grade & Young Adult LIterature

Kidnapped at the age of 11 from his home in Benin, Africa, Olaudah Equiano spent the next 11 years as a slave in England, the U.S., and the West Indies, until he was able to buy his freedom. An introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  

Inspired by a true account, here is the compelling story of a child who arrives in America on the slave ship Amistad --and eventually makes her way home to Africa.

Follows a family's two hundred forty-one year history, from the capture of an African boy in the 1750s through the lives of his descendants, as their dreams and circumstances lead them away from and back to the small plot of land in South Carolina that they call the Glory Field.

Since their mother Fanny left, Emma has taken care of the Butler children, Sarah and Frances. She wants to raise them to have good hearts, as a rift in morals has ripped the Butler household apart: Sarah and their mother oppose the inhumanity of slavery while Frances and their father Pierce believe in the Southern lifestyle and treatment of blacks. Now, to pay off mounting gambling debts, Pierce decides to cash in on his " assets" and host the biggest slave auction in American history, at the price of his humanity.

Set in West Africa, this a lyrical story-in-verse is about a young black boy who is kidnapped and sold into slavery, and his father who is left behind to mourn the loss of his son. Here's a beautiful, powerful, truly unforgettable story about family, memory, and freedom.

Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He's best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah's friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled -- a life from which he'll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.

When pale strangers enter fifteen-year-old Amari's village, her entire tribe welcomes them; for in her remote part of Africa, visitors are always a cause for celebration. But these strangers are not here to celebrate. They are here to capture the strongest, healthiest villagers and to murder the rest. They are slave traders. And in the time it takes a gun to fire, Amari's life as she's known it is destroyed, along with her family and village.

As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.

Based on Jacobs's autobiography, these "letters," written to lost relatives & friends, provide a look at what slavery meant for a young female in the mid-1800s.

The novel is based on the true story of a black slave woman, Margaret Garner, who in 1856 escaped from a Kentucky plantation with her husband, Robert, and their children. They sought refuge in Ohio, but their owner and law officers soon caught up with the family.

How did the Thirteenth Amendment come about? Learn about Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the abolitionist movement in this book complete with timeline, primary sources, photographs, and excerpts from the time period.

Bridget "Biddy" Mason, an African American philanthropist, healer, and midwife who was born into slavery. When Biddy arrived in California, where slavery was technically illegal, she was kept captive by her owners and forced to work without pay. But when Biddy learned that she was going to be taken to a slave state, she launched a plan to win her freedom. She refused to be defined by her enslavement.

The untold story of the enslaved people of Mount Vernon, and the illuminating history that is still being discovered in George Washington's historic home today. When he was eleven years old, George Washington inherited ten human beings. His own life has been well chronicled, but the lives of the people he owned--the people who supported his plantation and were buried in unmarked graves there--have not. Using fascinating primary source material and photographs of historical artifacts, Carla McClafferty sheds light on the lives of several people George Washington owned; the property laws of the day that complicated his decision to free them; and the Cemetery Survey, an archeological dig that is shaping our understanding of Mount Vernon's Slave Cemetery. Poignant and thought-provoking, Buried Lives blends the past with the present in a forward-looking account of a haunting piece of American history. Includes a foreword by Zsun-nee Matema, a descendant one of the enslaved people at Mount Vernon who is highlighted in this book, backmatter outlining the author's sources, and an index. A Junior Library Guild selection A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year

For three centuries Britain, the United States, and other Western nations carried on a massive, brutal trade in black slaves captured in Africa. Eventually Britain led the way in ending that despicable enterprise. Through a narrative-driven pro/con format-supported by relevant facts, quotes, and anecdotes-this book examines controversial issues from the point of view of someone who lived during the period. Topics include: Is Slavery Immoral? Is Slavery Essential to the Economies of the Southern States? Should Slavery Be Abolished? Should the Descendants of Slaves Receive Reparations?

How Slaves Built America delves into the history of how slave labor helped build the US economy and many historic structures, as well as how people benefited in different ways from the practice of slavery. Features include a timeline, a glossary, further readings, websites, source notes, and an index.

The Impact of Slavery in America explores the present-day repercussions of slavery on US society, including in housing, education, health care, and the justice system. Features include a timeline, a glossary, further readings, websites, source notes, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.

Never Caught is the eye-opening narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave, who risked everything for a better life. In this incredible narrative, Erica Armstrong Dunbar reveals a fascinating and heartbreaking behind-the-scenes look at the Washingtons when they were the First Family--and an in-depth look at their slave, Ona Judge, who dared to escape from one of the nation's Founding Fathers.

Soon after American colonists had won independence from Great Britain, Ona Judge was fighting for her own freedom from one of America's most famous founding fathers, George Washington. George and Martha Washington valued Ona as one of their most skilled and trustworthy slaves, but she would risk everything to achieve complete freedom. Born into slavery at Mount Vernon, Ona seized the opportunity to escape when she was brought to live in the President's Mansion in Philadelphia. Ona fled to New Hampshire and started a new life. But the Washingtons wouldn't give up easily. After her escape, Ona became the focus of a years-long manhunt, led by America's first president. Gwendolyn Hooks' vivid and detailed prose captures the danger, uncertainty, and persistence Ona Judge experienced during and after her heroic escape.

President George Washington and his wife enslaved more than 150 people in the mid-1700s. In 1796, one of their slaves escaped. Her name was Oney "Ona" Judge. Oney Judge: Escape from Slavery and the President's House explores her story and her legacy. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

A pile of lime-encrusted shackles discovered on the seafloor in the remains of a ship called the Henrietta Marie, lands Michael Cottman, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and avid scuba diver, in the middle of an amazing journey that stretches across three continents, from foundries and tombs in England, to slave ports on the shores of West Africa, to present-day Caribbean plantations. This is more than just the story of one ship - it's the untold story of millions of people taken as captives to the New World. Told from the author's perspective, this book introduces young readers to the wonders of diving, detective work, and discovery, while shedding light on the history of slavery.

Learn about slavery and the fight for freedom in this book examining the stories of slave narratives and their effect on the abolitionist movement of the United States. The book is complete with timeline, primary sources, photographs, and excerpts from the time period.

The true story behind the acclaimed movie 12 Years a Slave, this book is based on the life of Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York who was captured in the United States and sold into slavery in Louisiana.

Sugar was the substance that drove the bloody slave trade and caused the lossof countless lives but it also planted the seeds of revolution that led to freedom in the American colonies, Haiti, and France. With songs, oral histories, maps, and over 80 archival illustrations, here is the story of how one product allows us to see the grand currents of world history in new ways. Time line, source notes, bibliography, index.

The Thirteenth Amendment was passed after the end of American Civil War. It was meant to abolish slavery, but there was a loophole. The amendment allowed slavery as a form of criminal punishment. The Thirteenth Amendment and Its Legacy explores the link between the amendment and the mass incarceration of African Americans today. Easy-to-read text, vivid images, and helpful back matter give readers a clear look at this subject. Features include a table of contents, infographics, a glossary, additional resources, and an index.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade looks at the history of the global trade that took millions of Africans captive and shipped them across the Atlantic Ocean to work as slaves, and it explores the impact and legacy of that trade today. Features include a timeline, a glossary, further readings, websites, source notes, and an index.