Red River by Lalita Tademy

At some point in our lives, we all took a history class and learned about the Slave Trades, the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. Whether it was in elementary school, high school, or even in college, we all got a sense of that history and happened during that time frame. From what I learned, the impression that I got from what these history books were explaining was that, first, white people went to Africa and gathered hundreds and thousands of people, took them on boats to and turned them into slaves. Then after years have passed, good ol’ President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and blacks and whites lived equally ever after. Although these events did happen, textbooks still managed to “sugarcoat” …show more content…

Sam Tademy, Israel’s friend, was all for family as well. When he was a young boy and met his father for the first time, he explained to him that his real name and roots came from Africa, specifically from Egypt. According to scientists and anthropologists, the Ancient Egyptian civilization was known to be the first dynasty created that brought culture to the people (Rohl). This is why his father told him to be proud of his birth name; he doesn’t want the white man to destroy the only part of him that still holds on to his roots. Sam’s dream was to open a school for colored people since at the time only whites were able to attend school. He thought it was very important for not only his family, but all colored people, to be educated and given that right to learn. However, during the time of the Jim Crow Law, it was nearly impossible for colored people to attend school, and if they did, they were given old, worn out books with water stains on them and missing pages. Sam wanted to make it his priority to see a school for colored people to go to in the town of Colfax. On Easter Sunday, 1873, both Israel and Sam participated in the Colfax Riot. The Colfax Riot was caused by a few issues: Since before the Civil War, white souther Democrats had a lot of power in the government, however, things took a twist after the war had ended and