Freedom in Congo Square was written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. It is a poem picture book. A picture book containing only one poem. This is a poem about a place in New Orleans, Louisiana called Congo Square; it is in Louis Armstrong Park. In 1817, Congo Park has designated the only space for slaves to gather. During this time, slaves worked from sunup until sundown and Sunday was their only day of rest. They would gather in this area and conduct African customs such as music, language, and religion. This poem highlights some of their day-to-day routines and marks each day until they were “free” (Carole Boston Weatherford, R Gregory Christie, and Freddi Williams Evans 2016). This book mostly contains words that are familiar to the intended reader however there are some words that the reader might not know, and they are explained in the glossary at the back of the book. At the front of the book, there is information that is given to the reader to help them understand the context of the poem. At the end of the poem is the glossary and then an author’s note that gives more background information to the reader. The poem is another interesting look into the life of Africans and African Americans in the 1800s and would appeal to most readers.
The author uses rhyming and emotional impact to create the poem. There are two lines on each page and the end of each line rhymes with each other using words such as “fair” and “square” and “slop” and “chop” (Carole Boston Weatherford, R Gregory Christie, and Freddi Williams Evans 2016). This goes throughout most of the poem. The author uses emotional impact to help the reader understand the horrible situations that the slaves lived in. The author talks about being whipped and how they worked nonstop (Carole Boston Weatherford, R Gregory Christie, and Freddi Williams Evans 2016). The author also uses repetition. The author states the day of the week and then how many days until they go to Congo Square (Carole Boston Weatherford, R Gregory Christie, and Freddi Williams Evans 2016).
The illustrations are bold and inviting. They are mostly yellows, golds, and reds. The illustrations show in detail how the slaves lived on the plantations but not in gory detail. The illustrations describe well the actions that are taking place in the poem on the corresponding pages. The illustrations add to the reader's experience reading the book.
(excerpt)
Slaves had off one afternoon,
when the law allowed the to commune.
They flocked to New Orleans’ Congo Square.
Sundays, slaves and free met there.
(Carole Boston Weatherford, R Gregory Christie, and Freddi Williams Evans 2016)
This poem would be a good addition to the previous poem that I reviewed, Free at Last: A Juneteenth Poem by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle. It would also be a great addition to a storytime about Black History Month. I would introduce the poem by talking about how not everyone was once free, and they could not be who they were. I would include some of the information that was included at the beginning and the end of the book. For the activity, for older children, I would ask them how they would feel if they were in their shoes and lead a short discussion from there. I would also have them create instruments or have that as a take-home craft.
References:
Carole Boston Weatherford, R Gregory Christie, and Freddi Williams Evans. 2016. Freedom in Congo Square. New York, New York: Little Bee Books.
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