“Through all my years enslaved,I’ve listened to ancestral voices echoing through my weariness, giving me strength to withstand injustice, to believe in myself and survive. May our songs and stories keep alive in us the will to grow in learning. The longing to be free!”
-Ashley Bryan, Freedom Over Me
“Freedom Over Me; Eleven Slave’s Their Lives and Dreams” is based off of a true story of slaves that were sold when a plantation properties went up for auction. Author Ashley Bryan discovered a document of the Fairchild’s Appraisement of the Estate document from July 5, 1828.
In this text, Ashley brings the story of eleven of the Fairchild’s slaves to live. He had given all of them each an age, work assignment, and purpose through this book. During the time of slavery, the terms ‘boy, girl, man, and woman, were use with no regard to the actual age of the salve. African American slaves were not considered human beings.
Ashley, took it upon himself to beautifully depict painted portraits and bring alive slaves as human beings. The words tell of their marginalized backgrounds, and their work on the estate. With each of the eleven slaves, Ashley pairs their story with the individual desire to realize their dreams. Ashley had the power to make the world a better place according to the slave’s dreams. One of my favorite depictions of the slaves life and their dreams is Jane. Jane love’s another slave named Stephen. Despite the circumstances, they never “love shop that one day they will leave free.” Jane is a seamstress who depicts her freedom as “weaving these (freedom) thoughts into dream cloths of freedom.”
Ashley Bryan presents cultural details naturally. He does this through his use of pen, ink and watercolor plus collaged photo reproductions of historical deeds. He also accurately depicts how hard a slaves life can be through his free verse poem.
One thing that I find interesting about Ashley Bryan is that through his storytelling, he doesn’t speak them- he sings them. His finger’s snap, feet tap, and voice is articulating. This is why Ashley chose a free verse poem to depict the slaves life.
I am Pip.
I am talented and special
I live physically on the island, but mentally with the fish in the sea
I wonder why the Raftking sought out me
I hear the fish
I see underwater friendships that I don’t have on dry land
I want people to see me for my true potential
I’m as quiet as a mouse (for the dry land islanders)
I am a talented, special, unique, and a brother
I question how I can help raft world
I feel nervous about remembering the people that I meet in raft world
I taste the salty water on my lips as I talk to the fish
I worry that Kinchen can’t find me
I excel at talking to the fish-- they understand me, for me
I understand Kinchen only wants the best for me
I am a talented, special, unique, and a brother
I say that I don’t need Kinchen’s help in this world
I believe that I am capable of doing things on my own
I dream of the day that I can remember people like I remember the fish
I try to convince others that I am smart and cognizant
I hope that the Raftking takes me back to the islands once I am done
I was once a shy boy, without a voice of his own
But now I can stand up for myself without Kinchen’s help
I am a talented communicator and special
I am Pip.
Creating this Persona Poem for ‘A Crack in the Sea’ was very difficult. However, after I wrote the poem, I deepened my comprehension of the text. I was able to compose a text in means of response. I chose Pip as the character that I was going to write about to about. Pip was the character in the text that I could understand most about. I felt as if I had most knowledge of him.
When writing about Pip, I had empathy for what he was going through in the text. I “walked into a wardrobe” of Pip’s life as I attempted to understand the complexities of their inner world.
