Beyond Freedom: Disrupting the History of Emancipation edited by David W. Blight and Jim Downs

Well this was a profound and interesting series of essays that look beyond what we know as the concept of freedom after emancipation for enslaved people. Each essay takes a different look at how history concerning the Civil War and the Reconstruction era discusses what freedom actually means and how the horror of slavery defines freedom. These essays cover an array of topics regarding emancipation and the war such as the experience of Black women and children during that time, sexual violence, and culture. It begs the question of what freedom actually means, what it looks like to those that were in bondage and how the reality differed from what the North believed was happening and what Southerners allowed to happen after emancipation. But what I found most interesting about all of these essays are the ways the writers described in depth the way the studies have been conducted in the past and how a different take on the narrative would add more depth and understanding to the experience of newly freed people.

The most shocking essay for me and the one that really stood out upon completing this book was the essay regarding Black women and children. There are some horrors you simply can’t imagine and to see them laid so bare on the page really made me emotional. In this essay the author, Thavolia Glymph, also discussed refugees and refugee centers that were mostly Black women and children during the war. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen discussions regarding refugees during the Civil War so to read about their experiences and the horror that ensued was enlightening but also extremely disheartening.

I would definitely recommend this book. I think each essay brings up very valid points about how the history of Civil War and Reconstruction has been told and the ways in which it can improve. These essays disparage the revisionist attitude that some take regarding the cause of the Civil War and also dismantles the object racism in some of the research that shows Black enslaved people as inferior. Concise, in-depth, well researched and full of information this series of essay does a great job at presenting the ways in which research should expand in regards to emancipation.