Strange Fruit, Volume II: More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History

by Joel Christian Gill

Overview

Like all legends, people fade away, but not before leaving an incredible legacy. Strange Fruit, Volume II: More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History is a collection of stories from early African American history that represent the oddity of success in the face of great adversity.

Each of the eight illustrated chapters chronicles an uncelebrated African American hero or event. Joel Christian Gill offers historical and cultural commentary on heroes whose stories are not often found in history books, such as Cathay Williams, the only known female Buffalo Soldier, and Eugene Bullard, a fighter pilot who flew for France during World War I. These beautifully illustrated stories offer a refreshing look at remarkable African Americans. 

The stories included in Volume II are: Jourdan Anderson who requested payment from his former slave owner; Stagecoach Mary Fields, the first African-American female star route mail carrier; Willie Kennard, the Sheriff of the Colorado gold mining town of Yankee Hill; Cathay Williams, the only known female Buffalo Soldier; Blind Tom Wiggins, an autistic musical prodigy; Millie and Christine McCoy, conjoined twins known as "The Two-Headed Nightingale"; Victor Green, the creator and publisher of "The Green Book for the Negro Motorist"; and Eugene Bullard, a fighter pilot who flew for France during WWI.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781938486579
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/01/2018
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	287,838
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Joel Christian Gill is the inaugural chair of Boston University’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Narrative and associate professor in the CFA School of Visual Arts. He is also a cartoonist and historian who speaks nationally on the importance of sharing stories. He is the author of the acclaimed memoir Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence, cited as one of the best graphic novels of 2020 by the New York Times and for which he was awarded the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize. He wrote and illustrated Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride and the award-winning graphic novel series Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History, as well as three volumes of Tales of The Talented Tenth, which tell the stories of Bass Reeves, Bessie Stringfield, and Robert Smalls. He has just completed the graphic novel of Ibram Kendi's National Book Award–winning Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, forthcoming in June 2023. Gill has dedicated his life to creating stories to build connections with readers through empathy, compassion, and, ultimately, humanity.

Editorial Reviews

"These fascinating stories are all presented in such an easily accessible and engaging way that I sat down to read one and finished the whole book. I can’t imagine what sort of impact having learned these stories growing up would have had on me, but I believe I would have had more faith in myself, what I was capable of, and of my resiliency had I knows of these remarkable individuals." —Karyn Parsons, actress, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air


"With Strange Fruit, Volume II, Gill continues to skillfully and thoughtfully tell the stories of the forgotten visionaries, revolutionaries, and everyday folks of black history. This book is a shining example of the need to share the lesser-known narratives that add to the richness and complexity of the black experience." —Whitney Taylor, author and illustrator, Wallpaper and Ghost Stories


STARRED REVIEW: "Immersive and magnetic from the very first page." —Russell Miller, Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2018
Blind Tom Wiggins, a musical prodigy with autism; Eugene Bullard, the first black fighter pilot; Cathay Williams, who hid her gender to fight in the Civil War as the only known female "Buffalo soldier"; and five more extraordinary individuals star in this second engaging story collection about lesser-known African American heroes of past centuries. Simple, dramatic color art with maps and contextual details. Tweens and up. (Xpress Reviews 4/6/18)

Library Journal

06/01/2018
Gr 6 Up—In this outstanding follow-up to 2015's Volume 1, Gill again elevates previously uncelebrated figures from black American history in short illustrated stories. The conversational writing style and the design, featuring colorful illustrations, text blocks, speech bubbles, and asides, make these accounts incredibly engaging. The author/illustrator focuses on subjects who lived during the Civil War, the early 20th century, and World War II and profiles an equal number of men and women, including musical prodigy Stagecoach Mary Fields, conjoined twins Millie and Christine McCoy, and Jourdon Anderson, author of "one of the most gracious clapbacks in history." Gill ably documents his subjects with humor and liveliness, offering a captivating and original take on history. However, his chapter on Blind Tom Wiggins, a talented musician who was blind and autistic, lacks nuance. Gill's characterization of Wiggins as a gifted savant is simplistic; he includes but never questions a quote from Mark Twain about Wiggins ("a harmless idiot to whom all sound was music, and the imitation of them an unceasing delight") and glosses over Wiggins's owners' manipulation. VERDICT A great addition to history or graphic novel collections.—Ann Foster, Saskatoon Public Library, Sask.

School Library Journal