Black Hands, White Sails (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) - Hardcover

McKissack, Patricia C.; McKissack, Fredrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590483137 ISBN 13: 9780590483131

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 1999

Synopsis

Details the amazing courage and bravery of the black sailors who, desperate to escape slavery, became whalers on the dangerous high seas, as well as Frederick Douglass, Paul Cuffe, and other significant figures in the whaling industry and abolitionist movement.

About this title

From Library Journal:

Grade 6-9-A well-researched and detailed book chronicling the contributions of African Americans to the whaling industry. Many were drawn to jobs on whaling ships throughout the 1600-1800s, for while conditions were difficult, they were preferable to slavery. The authors go to great lengths to draw out the roles of African Americans, and while many of these connections are eye-opening, they are sometimes tenuous. The first half of the book, an introduction to the whales and the business surrounding their hunting, features significant men such as Prince Boston and Paul Cuffe, but also some who were less directly involved. Frederick Douglass did briefly work as a ship's caulker but many pages are devoted to describing aspects of his life that are irrelevant to whaling. Midway, the emphasis shifts to interesting aspects of life aboard ship, explaining phrases we use today that derive from whalers, superstitions of the seas, sailing songs and shanties, the story of the famous Essex, and the role of whalers in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. While the story becomes much more engaging at this point, the role of African Americans seems to have diminished importance as race is only occasionally mentioned. Overall, though, as an important and under-explored aspect of both African-American and nautical history, this book merits a place on the shelves in larger libraries and in African-American collections. However, for a more fascinating look at whaling, and one that integrates the African-American story along with the many other participants, look to Jim Murphy's Gone A-Whaling (Clarion, 1998).
Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

From the McKissacks (Young, Black, and Determined, 1998, etc.), a well-written, historical account of African-Americans who sailed on whaling ships off the East Coast between 1730 and 1880. The whaling industry provided great opportunities for free black seaman (and runaway slaves), many of whom could not find jobs elsewhere. The McKissacks note that during the ``golden age'' of whaling in the early 19th century, African-Americans comprised one-quarter of the crews; after the Civil War, their ranks swelled to half of all whalers. Not only does this book describe the whaling industry, it provides original maritime documents and historical black-and-white photographs from the Mystic Seaport Museum and the Kendall, New Bedford, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard whaling museums. Another thread of this fascinating history is the story of the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad for the Nantucket and New Bedford whalers. Beyond an overview, readers also meet some individuals, such as Lewis Temple, who developed the ``toggle'' harpoon design with barbs that stuck into the whale's body and wouldn't pull out easily, and John Mashow, who designed whale ships, including the Nimrod. The McKissacks describe an exciting period of maritime history, and celebrate an industry that chose workers on the basis of their skills, and not their skin. (index, not seen, b&w photos, appendix, chronology, bibliography). (Nonfiction. 8-13) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0590483137
• ISBN 13: 9780590483131
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192