Customer Reviews

Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana's Free People of Color

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4 star:		(1)
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This book of essays is absolutely the best resource on the Creole heritage of Louisiana. The history is priceless and my hat goes off to Dr. Kein for compiling such a group of scholars and historians who have covered every aspect of the subject. I have many books and have done much research since the late eighties as part of my research on African American history. This book has been a long time in coming. I thank Anthony Barthelemy for his essay "Light, Bright, Damn Near White" which answered my questions of the infamous Susie Guillory case, the woman who "discovered" she was considered "Colored" when she went to get a passport in the 80s. I always wondered what they true story was and now I know. I enjoued learning about Marcus Chritian through violet Harrington Byan's essay exposing his research on Creoles. All of the essays are worth reading and referring to again and again. Composers of color of Nineteenth-Century New Orleans was an eye-opener. I had heard about them but found very little information until this. The essay by Joan Martin on placage answered alot of questions for me of why and will be helpful for my friend who is writing a thesis on Creole women and the institution of placage. Oh, and Sybil Kein's "The Use of Louisiana Creole in Southern Literature" was worth the whole book. This essay brought home full circle of my studies of some of the writers who have written about literature, race, and passing. I could go on and on. Creole Poets, their professions and trades, the food connection. It is all wonderful. I count this book as one of my best investments for 2000 with the wealth of knowledge in it. This should be in the library of every American historian, black, white, or other.

I am delighted to find that my academic peers of creole decent have endeavored to put together our past in such a marvelous way. I have spent many hours in the New Orleans Public Library and have visited the Armistead Center but have never had the time to sit down and put all the information together so that I could start to compare the fact to the stories that were passed on to me about my ancestors. Being light skinned black with a french maiden name, I am often questioned as to my family background. My grandmother and mother's stories and my own experiences often amaze people as to how rich my background is. Now I have a book to pass on to my children as well as stories of my past. In an age of reams of wirtings about the diversity of America, I now have a book to pass on to them about my own diverse past - my creole legacy. Thank you Sybil Kein and company!

Creole provides an invaluable history of Louisiana's Creole people, examining the ethnic roots of the Creoles and their mixed descent, analyzing their history and contributions, and helping define their ethnic heritage. From the use of Creole in language and literature to popular individuals of color, this provides a fine coverage.

This is a terrific historical book without getting so factual that it gets boring. It keeps you interest in every chapter.

I bought this to learn more about my family's heritage.

Seems as though I already KNEW a lot that this book didn't even touch on.

Still is a worthwhile reference. I was torn between giving it 3 or 4 stars. It isn't a 5 star book as it could use some help with flow and there is a lot of salient points that just wasn't included. However a lot of information is presented here...to give substance to the fact that Creole is a culture, a heritage. That alone gives it merit.

Sybil Kein has spent decades researching and documenting our Creole history. This book is a must for anyone who wants to understand both the successes and stuggles of a very unique and endogamous culture that grew from Louisiana's Free People of Color.