Joel Christian Gill

Stamp from the beginning, has been a very important book in our modern society. So important that they made both a young readers addition, and a kid’s edition. Now they have come out with a graphic novel edition to help all readers, understand how racism began at the same time our country did. How from the very beginning of colonialization, the thinking of one race of people is better than other, has been stamped into everything that our country has grown up around. This book does this show more through looking at five key historical figures, and what they have done to burden or to help society as a whole in this endeavor to be anti-racist. The way this book was turned into a graphic novel is phenomenal. How the artist and the author bring forth the idea of antiracist versus segregationist and that both are a form of racism, had this white reader thinking “maybe I am doing things wrong”. This book starts out with a fantastic comic of a white woman going into a black school to teach all the kids, and now they’ve all passed. And how it’s a good thing. A.k.a. the Dangerous Minds situation also known as white saviorism. It helps people realize that this is a form of assimilation. That by saying things like stop, pull your pants, talk right, etc. is assimilation. What is talking right? Too many it’s talking “white”. So, lots of fantastic ideas and history in this book that is not taught other places. Whether read in graphic novel, or any of the three other versions, this book should be read, and should be considered part of a curriculum on the history of our country. show less

An enslaved sailor successfully commandeers a Confederate ship and sails it to freedom.

Robert Smalls was a 23-year-old enslaved deckhand on the Confederate ship the CSS Planter when he devised a plan to emancipate himself and 15 others, including his wife and children. Smalls’ work on the ship allowed him to learn the navigation and codes needed to move through the blockaded waters surrounding Charleston, South Carolina. It was also how he discovered that the Union would accept those show more fleeing from slavery as contraband. Against military orders, the captain of the ship allowed White crew members to spend the night away from the ship, entrusting it to the Black sailors. Seizing the opportunity, Smalls led a dangerous escape through Confederate checkpoints by acting as the White captain. His daring resulted in the freedom of those aboard and the capture of a ship and arms for the Union. The epilogue gives more examples of Smalls’ efforts to improve the lives of his people after the Civil War, including as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. This graphic depiction of Smalls’ story successfully captures the determination of enslaved people to secure their own freedom. The colorful panels fully express the taut drama of the venture. This is the latest in the Tales of the Talented Tenth series by graphic storyteller Gill, presenting little-known tales from African American history.

An inspiring saga of a real-life hero. (bibliography) (Graphic biography. 10-16)

-Kirkus Review show less

Another great installment that tells of unsung Black people throughout history. This wasn't as funny as the first one, but keeps the light-heartedness while putting a lot of care into the stories. A unique bunch of people featured in this book, it makes me want to read deeper into them.

Joel Gill's Strange Fruit, vol. 1 is both a stunning work of art and a welcome history lesson, detailing the lives of nine forgotten men in African American history, including the first black chess master, the greatest lawman in the Old West, a slave who mailed himself to freedom in a box, and the first American stage magician.

I initially selected this title for an "Overlooked U.S. History" library display, and ended up checking it out to read myself. I also shared it, along with the show more intertwined, difficult and uncomfortable conversations, with my seven-year-old daughter. While it depicts the accounts of merely a handful of individuals, the graphic novel rendering humanizes each of the stories, giving these remarkable men a more fully fleshed-out life and personality than would the more simple medium of plain text on paper. I look forward to the release of volume 2, and likewise hoping to see some women represented. show less