As a middle school librarian of color, I highly appreciate the book "Slavery and the African American Story" by Patricia Williams Dockery as a valuable supplement to the standard American history textbooks. This comprehensive and informative book provides a readable overview of slavery in the United States, starting from the colonial era to the efforts to gain freedom and celebrate the legacy of the enslaved. The author covers various aspects of this history, including the early African presence in America, the legal framework of slavery, the creation of a new American culture, and the resistance and fight for freedom by enslaved individuals.

One of the strengths of this book is its inclusion of lesser-known figures and stories that are often overlooked in traditional textbooks. It introduces readers to individuals like Handsome John, a 16th-century conquistador, and John Punch, an indentured servant who ended up being indentured for life. The book also highlights the contributions of Black men who fought in the American Revolution, such as Crispus Attucks and James Armistad Lafayette. These stories provide a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of American history.

"Slavery and the African American Story" would be an excellent resource for middle school students. Its readability and comprehensive coverage make it accessible to young readers, while its inclusion of additional resources and bibliography ensures that students can further explore the topic. This book fills a gap in the standard textbooks by shedding light on the experiences and contributions of African Americans throughout history. It is time to include histories from diverse groups of Americans, and this book is a step in the right direction.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I think this is a great middle grade nonfiction book talking to kids about slavery and how it came about. I like how they were being honest, but not sugar coating anything. I like how the author gave mini facts through out the chapters and how this is something I think all children and even adult should read to get a better understanding about what happened in the past and how we can fix it today to be better people.

Highly recommend this book as an introduction to such a complex aspect of history. Does not stray away from discussions of the brutality of the institution of slavery. Also, I really enjoy that it includes information about the work and research being done today.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is very well-written and will help fill in a lot of blanks that, unfortunately, are frequently left out at school.

Definitely my favorite installment of the Race to the Truth series thus far!

This is a straightforward, no nonsense, anti-racist look at slavery from a Black perspective, including how its affects continue to permeate American society today. The tone is lively while never talking down to or oversimplifying for its audience — something I heartily appreciate in literature for young people.

I also wouldn't hesitate to recommend Slavery and the American Story to adults who want an easily digestible overview of this topic.

This excellent nonfiction book deserves to be in every school and public library, since history books have left out tons of Black History. Yes, it’s depressing to read this book which is intended for young people who need to know more than they learn in school. As an adult who earned good grades in history classes, I learned about famous Black heroes that I’d never heard of before. This is an eye-opening, sobering and important look at slavery.

This is a dense book, packed with information that is traditionally left out of textbooks found in schools. I appreciate having a resource like this, not only for my children, but for myself, as well. I have seen this marketed as a children's/middle grade book... I would lean more towards middle grade and high school. The vocabulary is very academic, not to mention the structure of the book is pages of unbroken text. Despite the textbook style appearance, I feel this is an amazing resource for every library.

I really enjoyed this book designed for middle schoolers and up to learn about slavery and the African American story. Some of the stories were new, but many of the stories I already knew thanks to Jasmine Holmes and Sharon McMahon. I liked that this book was written in small sections and with a combination of individual stories and collective history. Highly recommend for those who are interested in history.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was lucky to receive two Race to the Truth books this summer from Netgalley. Authors and writing style was different in both. As the title clearly states, this book is about the African American story. I feel the facts are written in an interesting way that will keep the reader entertained and learning.

I would suggest a cover change. As a third grade teacher, I picked up the book thinking that it would be good for my students, or at least as a read a loud. It could possibly be a read aloud, but the vocabulary tends to be too sophisticated for an 8 year old. I would highly recommend this book for grade 6 - 9. It would completely enhance any middle school history class.

This book helps to further illuminate the true histories of the human beings who bore the burden of creating the foundation for this country. More books like "Slavery and the African American Story" are sorely needed in today's US as censorship of this country true history ramps up. Patricia Williams Dockery did a brilliant job at telling the truth and making it digestible for a younger audience.

Slavery and the African American Story
by Patricia Williams Dockery
Pub Date 12 Sep 2023
Random House Children's,Crown Books for Young Readers
Children's Nonfiction| History| Middle Grade


Through Random House Children's, Crown Books for Young Readers, and Netgalley, I am reviewing Slavery and the African American Story:


So far, you've only heard one side of the story: how slavery began, and how America split into two to end it. From the perspective of an African American, here is the true story of America.



As soon as Africans arrived in the United States, they began to shape the country. Their labor created a strong economy, built our halls of government, and shaped American society forever. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was not signed until 300 years after the first Africans arrived, the fight for freedom began as soon as they stepped foot on American soil. 


This book tells the true story of the first 300 years of African Americans in America: the struggles, the heroes, and the untold stories that were left out of textbooks. Start here to learn the truth about African American history in the United States.


I give Slavery and the African American Story five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Thank you for this book! It is so important to make sure students are able to get multiple perspectives from history and this is one of the best!

4.5/5
This is my favorite one I've read in the Race to the Truth series! It's like the 1619 project but scaled down for a younger audience. Very informative and easy to understand, academic but engaging. This is a great resource for the transatlantic slave trade and modern systematic racism in the United States. A perfect tool for every elementary school library and classroom!

Thanks to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great way of introducing some hard truths to children. It reminded me a lot of the Dear America series but still different. It had everything that I was looking for and I was never bored when reading this. It left me wanting more in this type of book.

This book is a very powerful reclaiming of the African American story. It took me several sittings to process what I had read and understand the full weight of the story. Although it was hard to hear, it was still appropriate for a middle grade reader. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love this read for middle grade students. It gives a real and heavy view of the cruel treatment of slaves in a way that I think is often hidden or glossed over in all education. From covering the slave trade from the capturing to fighting for freedom this book puts the emphasis on black people and their fight for freedom and against the oppression they faced. By including lots of photos, documents, and other visuals this book is extremely powerful and would be a great read for any student regardless of race.

A much needed book for today's youth and adults alike. I learned so much and I have read a lot of recent books on the experience of enslaved people. Teachers must have the courage to bring up these topics and truths with their students. Not only will I share this book with my old children when they are older (currently they are 4 and 7), I will share it with my students. Thank you for such a wonderful resource on a difficult topic.

This is a great book that really will pair well with Kate Messner's History Smashers series, although this is more serious. This really gets into a lot of parts of slavery and about African Americans that hasn't been covered before and is really and important part of the formation of the United States. There is a lot of great detail in here, while still being appropriate for young audiences. I look forward to more in this series.