Complicated Lives: Free Blacks in Virginia, 1619-1865

by Sherri L. Burr

"This narrative nonfiction book contains stories of people of African origin who were never enslaved, born free, or who obtained liberty through court proceedings in the U.S. They lived in a society that sought to systematically deprive them of liberty and other human rights. This history of Free Blacks in Virginia reveals the human ability to persevere against adverse odds arising from the color of their skin, or their gender, or both. It interweaves legal history with stories of what happened to those African Americans who were free before the Civil War and lived their lives in the shadows of a complicated world"--

Genres: History, Nonfiction

212 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2019

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burr's work is provocative and crisp - mixing genealogy and legal history to concoct a readable and enlightening history. The path through her own ancestry is as compelling as what Burr discovers at the beginning - a free black community, vibrant and thriving in the American Colonial period. How these free blacks came to live next door to white slave owners illustrates the cogitative dissidence or outright hypocrisy of white supremacy. While there were communities free blacks, Virginia was slowly codifying chattel slavery through a series of increasingly brutal laws (blacks could not testify against whites in court, stripped of the right to vote, etc). Burr rounds her book out by documenting how the Founding Fathers embodied this cognitive dissidence, holding anti-slavery views while having their power and wealth tied up with owning slaves. Burr has a breezy, readable style that makes her difficult information easier to digest.

Here is an interview I did with Professor Burr for my library's 1619 Discussion:
Sherri Burr on Free Blacks in Virginia

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot. It's very readable, written as narrative nonfiction, with many true personal anecdotes, which kept it interesting. It's short, not intended as a comprehensive history, but I found it that much more meaningful. It's so intriguing to think about how this ties into the author's family tree. Genealogy is always fascinating, but unimaginably complicated when we're talking about enslaved people, Free Blacks, and whites all mixing, procreating, and often hiding their relationships. My favorite aspect was the complex and contradictory relationships of our founding fathers to the idea and practice of slavery, often espousing anti-slavery views, while personally owning slaves. I highly recommend "Complicated Lives," an excellent peek into some of the complexities of our history.

[BruceCarma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish a book like this was available and taught in schools decades ago. It contained so many surprising facts and information about how we got to where we are now. The author’s addition of how her heritage fits in with the story of race in America was delightful.

[Lonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great book

[Lisa K]

author is MHC '81