Amazing Grace: The American Spiritual

Books & Articles

The Amazing Grace experience doesn’t end with the performance. We have curated a selection of books & articles about Maine’s Black history, race and classical music, and antiracism to complement the concert and enrich your understanding.

 

Books: Non-Fiction

maine

Maine’s Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People by H.H. Price and Gerald E. Talbot
This meticulously researched book takes readers through Maine’s under-appreciated Black history, including slavery, arts, sciences, sports, and more. 

Lives of Consequence: Blacks in Early Kittery & Berwick in the Massachusetts Province of Maine by Patricia Q. Wall 
Wall presents her extensive research on the 400+ Black people who lived in this region from the seventeenth century until 1820 and their impact on their communities.

Black Bangor: African Americans in a Maine Community, 1880-1950 (Revisiting New England: The New Regionalism) by Maureen Lee 
During this time period, Black people immigrated to Bangor both from other New England states and other regions such as the Caribbean. Though small, the community was very heterogeneous and influential in advocating for racial justice. 

Music

Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi Andrew
In her new book, Andrew unveils Black opera’s force in fighting oppression and pushing for social change.


It’s Our Music Too: The Black Experience in Classical Music by Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Though many books have analyzed many facets of classical music, this is the first to share how musicians of African descent were instrumental in shaping classical music throughout history.

Miles by Miles Davis
In his extraordinarily honest autobiography, one of the greatest musicians of all time shares his remarkable stories of grappling with racism and addiction while defining a genre.

antiracism

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
In this beautifully written and deeply important New York Times bestseller, DiAngelo explains that racism is complex and not just exhibited by “bad people.”

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
In this 250-week New York Times bestseller, Alexander shares her deep research of the legal history of Jim Crow laws and how those policies linger, contributing to the mass incarceration of Black people. 

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Racism psychologist Beverly Daniel Tatum presents straight talk about racial identities and answers the questions you were too afraid to ask about race. 

Find more recommendations from the Atlantic black box project, a crowdsourced public history project about new england’s role in the slave trade.

Books: Fiction

Maine

Beneath Freedom's Wing: A novel based on the true story of Bridgton, Maine's role in the Underground Railroad and the Abolition Movement by Caroline Grimm
The harrowing tale of Mathilde’s escape from slavery and a parson and his wife whose actions counter public opinion.

Enough! Poems of Resistance and Protest Edited by Claire Milikin and Agnes Bushell
27 Maine poets put pen to paper to describe this tumultuous age of pandemic and protest.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
One of the country’s most important books, Uncle Tom’s Cabin’s portrayal was instrumental in the eventual abolition of slavery. It’s a novel with a complex history–read more here.

music

Joplin’s Ghost by Tannarive Due
In the midst of launching her R&B career, Phoenix has a life-changing encounter with the ghost of Scott Joplin.








Articles