Limit this search to....

The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White
Contributor(s): Wiencek, Henry (Author)
ISBN: 0312253931     ISBN-13: 9780312253936
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
OUR PRICE:   $25.19  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: February 2000
Qty:
Annotation: "The Hairstons" is the extraordinary saga of the largest family in America, the Hairston clan. One family--black and white--has a history that is the story of slavery and its legacy in America. Yet this is not a tale of horror, but rather of love and heroism powerful enough to shake the foundation myth of the Old South. 16-page photo insert.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States - State & Local - South (al,ar,fl,ga,ky,la,ms,nc,sc,tn,va,wv)
- Social Science | Ethnic Studies - African American Studies
- Social Science | Slavery
Dewey: B
Physical Information: 0.91" H x 6.05" W x 9.07" (1.25 lbs) 400 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - 19th Century
- Cultural Region - South
- Ethnic Orientation - African American
- Topical - Family
Accelerated Reader Info
Quiz #: 35836
Reading Level: 8.7   Interest Level: Upper Grades   Point Value: 25.0
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award

The Hairstons is the extraordinary story of the largest family in America, the Hairston clan. With several thousand black and white members, the Hairstons share a complex and compelling history: divided in the time of slavery, they have come to embrace their past as one family.

The black family's story is most exceptional. It is the account of the rise of a remarkable people--the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of slaves--who took their rightful place in mainstream America.

In contrast, it has been the fate of the white family--once one of the wealthiest in America--to endure the decline and fall of the Old South, and to become an apparent metaphor for that demise. But the family's fall from grace is only part of the tale. Beneath the surface lay a hidden history--the history of slavery's curse and how that curse plagued slaveholders for generations.

For the past seven years, journalist Wiencek has listened raptly to the tales of hundreds of Hairston relatives, including the aging scions of both the white and black clans. He has crisscrossed the old plantation country in Virginia, North Carolina, and Mississippi to seek out the descendants of slaves. Visiting family reunions, interviewing family members, and exploring old plantations, Wiencek combs the far-reaching branches of the Hairston family tree to gather anecdotes from members about their ancestors and piece together a family history that involves the experiences of both plantation owners and their slaves. He expertly weaves the Hairstons' stories from all sides of historical events like slave emancipation, Reconstruction, school segregation, and lynching.

Paradoxically, Wiencek demonstrates that these families found that the way to come to terms with the past was to embrace it, and this lyrical work, a parable of redemption, may in the end serve as a vital contribution to our nation's attempt to undo the twisted historical legacy of the past.


Contributor Bio(s): Wiencek, Henry: -

Henry Wiencek, a nationally prominent historian and writer, is the author of several books, including The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1999, and, most recently, Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves.