Trail to Wounded Knee Book

This account of children in slavery provides a complex picture of the experience of the young people. They did many of the chores at an early age that the children in the West did. However, the nature of the circumstances made that work very different. Working for one’s family or working for someone else with one’s family not able to support and protect one is quite different. Listening to some of the slave narratives in conjunction with this book enriched the reading. I think King was very fair in terms of showing a balanced picture, noting where evidence may have not been correct or where there were gaps in the record. Situations varied and even though the whole system of slavery was not conducive to healthy growth in children, there were situations that were better than others. Certainly, most of the slave mothers and fathers cared for their children and tried to do the best for them that they could under terrible circumstances, knowing that they or the children could be sold away from each other at any point. Since their parents were considered children it was difficult for the slave children ever to grow up even though they never had what we would consider a childhood. They had to work, they had to face the fear of separation, they had to stifle their sense of mastery and achievement. The role of religion was important as was the significance of being able to read. I am fascinated by how education was so important then and is such a problem for black kids now.