Give Me Wings: How A Choir Of Former Slaves Took On The World

Synopsis

The 1800s were a dangerous time to be a black girl in the United States, especially if you were born a slave. Ella Sheppard was such a girl, but her family bought their freedom and moved to Ohio where slavery was illegal; they even scraped enough money together to send Ella to school and buy her a piano. In 1871, when her school ran out of money and was on the brink of closure, Ella became a founding member of a traveling choir, the Jubilee Singers, to help raise funds for the Fisk Free Colored School, later known as Fisk University.

The Jubilee Singers traveled from Cincinnati to New York, following the Underground Railroad. With every performance they endangered their lives and those of the people helping them, but they also broke down barriers between blacks and whites, lifted spirits, and even helped influence modern American music: the Jubilees were the first to introduce spirituals outside their black communities, thrilling white audiences who were used to more sedate European songs.

Framed within Ella's inspiring story, Give Me Wings! is narrative nonfiction at its finest, taking readers through one of history's most tumultuous and dramatic times, touching on the Civil War, Emancipation, and the Reconstruction Era.

Copyright:

2015

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

146 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781554517473

Publisher:

Annick Press, Limited

Date of Addition:

07/15/19

Copyrighted By:

Kathy Lowinger

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Teens, Biographies and Memoirs

Grade Levels:

Sixth grade, Seventh grade, Eighth grade, Ninth grade, Tenth grade, Eleventh grade, Twelfth grade

Reading Age:

11–14

Submitted By:

Daproim Africa

Proofread By:

Daproim Africa

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.