Misconceptions about slavery: 8 books to help you change your mind and change the world

We have a higher probability of making change happen when we can openly discuss the history of slavery and then proactively address the inequity that prevails to this day. These eight books, many recently published, have helped us at WomensTrust learn more about Africa and social development–and dismantle the misperceptions and biases that Americans often bring to the table.

	1. Harriet Tubman: Imagining a Life by Beverly Lowry Clearly, the underground railroad was critical to our country’s getting beyond slavery, and Harriet Tubman was its iconic leader. Her large and dedicated network of activists who helped slaves get to safety is linked to our objective today–a coming together to provide on-the-ground support for the disadvantaged in Africa as they reach economic safety.
	2. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It by Paul Collier The great debate rages on as to which international aid model will improve upon the dismal results of the past. Paul Collier’s framework is useful for sorting through developmental differences across the continent.
	3. The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good by William Easterly Bill Easterly’s analysis is spot on. He personally accepted our invitation to pay a site visit to WomensTrust in Pokuase earlier this year and was very impressed.
	4. Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire Why does severe economic discrepancy exist in the world? Why can’t it be solved simply by just getting people to work hard? This book is a classic, written in 1970–its subtitle would read “why poverty is not caused by the poor.”
	5. Building Houses out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power by Psyche A. Williams-Forson This book is a lovely complement that captures how stereotyping works as part of the process of oppression.
	6. and 7. Onions Are My Husband: Survival and Accumulation by West African Market Women by Gracia Clark and The Survival of the Fitter by John Powell Most in Ghana are limited in employment to what’s called the informal economy, where you barely survive and often aren’t even counted as part of GDP. These two books that provide an inside view of the fantastic entrepreneurial drive you witness daily when you’re there. One of the best investments we can make is in local talent because it’s local people who will lead the creation of industries and jobs.
	8. The Entrepreneurial Imperative: How America’s Economic Miracle Will Reshape the World (and Change Your Life) By Carl J. Schramm One of the potentially most powerful exports of America is our imbedded entrepreneurial spirit borne of the frontier and immigration. Now add “the power of kindness” and you have a formula to equal out the opportunities on the global playing field. This is only amplified when we as Americans can acknowledge how the sheer luck of being in the right place impacted our success as individuals.




Dana is Vibrant Nation’s Vibrant Giver for July 2009. Click to learn how she is helping women in Ghana help themselves–and how you can contribute!

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