The Humanity Archive

The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth by Jermaine Fowler (2023) 416 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla narrated by the author. The book was recommended by a friend. I was unfamiliar with the author's podcast that is also called "The Humanity Archive." I love that the author loves libraries. Fowler has read much about history and picks out gems of stories featuring Black experience from across the breadth of history. In America, in particular, many of these examples have been forgotten or actively whitewashed. Fowler is an excellent storyteller. There are both traumatic stories and stories of excellence. Both injustices and uplift are important for building empathy with our fellow humans.
 

King Leopold's Ghost

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild (1998) 442 pages

A friend planned a Jolabokaflod event around New Year's this year. It was my first time participating in the Icelandic Yule book flood tradition. This history book was gifted to me as a recommended read. 

This is about the exploration and colonization of the Congo. The Belgian King Leopold's rapacious rule for resources such as ivory and rubber caused the many indigenous African peoples to be enslaved, traumatized, and killed. There were a few journalists and missionaries who protested despite efforts by the state to silence them. 

It was well-researched and revealed how rarely the Africans' experience was given voice by Europeans and Americans. It was fascinating and disturbing history. Yet there were heroes highlighted in the Congo reform movement. E. D. Morel, Roger Casement, George Washington Williams, William Sheppard, and Hezekiah Andrew Shanu each are revealed to have achieved something in the fight against Leopold's human rights crimes.