Roland Laird

A straightforward historical account of the black experience in the United States, with the graphics providing digestible chunks of information rather than telling a story separate from that of the text. The images do not flinch from the legacy of hate and violence, but are not especially disturbing in themselves.

Told as a single narrative rather than broken into chapters, Still I Rise is strongest in showing the constants of the black perspective (persistence and innovation in the face of oppression and violence) especially in the context of systemic forces. There are plenty of examples of individual accomplishments and the influence of historic figures, many of whom were completely new to me, but most impressive was the connection between socioeconomic forces and the evolution of black oppression. For example, the common origin of indentured servitude for whites and blacks, and separate laws passed against black freedmen tied to the influence of disgruntled whites still indentured; how slavery in the West Indies shaped the Southern economy and introduced slavery to the U.S.; the political machinations of Federal laws (Missouri Compromise and efforts to maintain a balance between Free and Slave states within the Union) leading to race laws flourishing within the so-called Free states.

The text is balanced in showing both the betrayals by blacks profiting at the expense of other blacks, as well as the support of emancipation by whites. Especially telling is the hypocrisy of all people in their pursuit of “higher ideals”, perhaps most obviously the inequality of women of all races.

The new material added for the second edition seems rushed, without as much of the integrated perspective of the two narratives as the original edition. In effect, it adds facts about the 8-10 years between the Million Man March and the Obama campaign.… (mehr)

With a wide variety of topics covered in graphic novel form, it is no surprise that a thorough book covering the history of African-American's is available. "Still I Rise" was originally published in 1997 and is now being reissued to included Barack Obama's presidency. The book provides a detailed account of African-American's beginning with Jamestown in 1618. The books graphic style and narration alternate between serious and comic with two narrators both telling the story and adding commentary. This device works well since the book is a history of a people as much as it is a history of a country. The breadth of history covered and the approachability of the graphic novel makes this a great read for teens and adults.… (mehr)