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Audiobooks Narrated by David Dear
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Witness powerful stories about the effects and realities of living in a prejudiced society in this audio bundle of classic Black narratives. These selections are both fictional and nonfictional stories of living in a society that devalues and dehumanizes the lives of Black people. Though all four of these books were written over a hundred years ago, the realities within are still important for modern readers to read and understand.
12 Years a Slave - This is the memoir account of Solomon Northup, a man born free in New York but who ended up sold into slavery in Louisiana. This account tells of his time working in plantations and his eventual escape from slavery.
The Souls of Black Folk - The Souls of Black Folk was published in 1903 as a collection of essays from W.E.B. Du Bois, an African-American sociologist. This book is comprised of 14 essays, with Du Bois's overall message being that Black people were equally worthy of the rights of white people.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano - This memoir is the story of a man born in Africa and sold into slavery as a young child. He was sold between several owners and sent around the world throughout his life, eventually working to purchase his own freedom.
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man - This novel follows the life of an unnamed biracial man who lives his early life among Black communities, but upon witnessing a horrific lynching, decides to live as an "Ex-Colored Man" and pass himself off as white.
In the years after the Civil War, there was an unfortunate amount of importance placed on racial identity. The focus on the races of one’s parents remained a mainstay of culture due to systemic prejudice and racism, and was a way of continuing to enact violence against Black people. For many mixed-race people, it felt safer to try and shift into white society.
It is in this environment that The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is written. In this novel, the narrator describes his life as a Black child and young adult, working his way through the various social classes. He becomes a musician and travels the world as a free Black man for much of his life, but eventually makes the decision to live as a white man after witnessing a horrific lynching. The rest of his life is spent keeping a piece of himself hidden from everyone in an attempt at safety.
The story in this novel is fictional, but it comprises a lot of Black experiences from the time period, and offers the perspective of a mixed-race man living in a society that demanded people obscure their true heritage.
