Slavery by Another Name

The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II

By: Douglas A. Blackmon

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 2009

In this groundbreaking historical expose, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history: an Age of Neoslavery that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II.

Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Douglas A. Blackmon unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter.

By turns moving, sobering, and shocking, this unprecedented account reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today.

©2009 Douglas A. Blackmon (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Shocking....Eviscerates one of our schoolchildren's most basic assumptions: that slavery in America ended with the Civil War.” ( The New York Times)

“The genius of Blackmon's book is that it illuminates both the real human tragedy and the profoundly corrupting nature of the Old South slavery as it transformed to establish a New South social order.” ( The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Story behind Jim Crow

What did you love best about Slavery by Another Name?

the in-depth of what happen and how it somehow got lost in time until now...

Any additional comments?

Its sad that this was allowed to happen from the President all the way down to normal people who called themselves Christians...What I don't understand is: Jewish People got a country, Native Americans got land of their own without Government control, and Black Americans got nothing for all the abused they received and continue to take to this day. Now after listening to this I see why Black American don't own or control any part of there life in American, because if they do it can all be taken away at a blink of an eye with laws the ruling class can place on them at any point in time. As a Black American I could not understand why we have been in this land for more than 400+ years and have nothing to show for it, other than government welfare and drugs to show our status as Americans in the eyes of the ruling class. I kept asking how did we get here with the masterful minds and hard willing people to endure all that pain and suffering of slavery and Jim Crow laws. The rules of the land can keep you down, yes some Black Americans can slip by and make it, but if a lot start to move then the ruling class change the rules to continue to hold back the many.

Overwhelming, eye-opening, indispensable

Would you listen to Slavery by Another Name again? Why?

Yes,

What was one of the most memorable moments of Slavery by Another Name?

There are some very memorable moments, but what really counts is learning about the situation of blacks in America from the end of the Civil War until World War II and after. This was a part of US history I had not known and it changed my view not only of African Americans but of the country as a whole.

Have you listened to any of Dennis Boutsikaris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but he is excellent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, it sure did. I am still reeling.

Any additional comments?

I cannot recommend this book too strongly. Anybody who lives in the US or has anything to do with the US (which is just about everyone in the world) must read this to have a better understanding of the country, its evolution, and its people. Foreigners not well acquainted with American history, however, must not imagine that this is all there is to it: there is much in that extraordinary story that people from other cultures cannot imagine, though this book recounts a very important and little known chapter.

***A Story Of 2 Americas***

Woven in the very fabric of American's psyche is the subtle absurd notion- America has been great! No, by no means, America has not had its moments of greatness, it's seasons of equality nor it's time to shine like the lighthouse of the world, but it has perpetuated a dire need to cover the dark truths that continue to be pervasive! America needs to be healed! It starts with a confession, it starts with the truth, and it starts with talking about the ailments of racism. Need I say more...

A stunning awakening

As a 55 year old raised in the Pacific Northwest I was stunned at the systematic governmental conspiracy to denigrate and "reslave" black Americans in the south after the Civil War. While Jim Crow was mentioned in school, nothing of the true magnitude, abuse or impact was even hinted at.

This book was a true revalation.

Great book

Is beautiful written. I was hooked and amazed by the detailed storytelling. Must preserve our history, no matter how grim.