I wanted to write and thank you for your wonderful emails and support for my book, American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt. I’ve been so honored and uplifted by your reactions and I could not have imagined a better response. I set out to publish this book with two overriding goals in mind. First, I wanted to put the 1811 revolt on the map, to make sure the revolt was in every textbook and that young people won’t be able to graduate from high school without at least hearing the story of the heroic men who fought and died for liberty on the cane fields turned killing fields of the German Coast. And second, I wanted to change the way we think about slavery and the American past, to remember the bravery of the men and women who not only built this country economically but fought and died for freedom and equality – people whose actions stand as a testament to the best ideals of this country – rather than just feeling ashamed and guilty and thinking of enslaved people as victims. The good news is that the word is getting out and the book and the story are being shared and passed around and I think are making a difference. I wanted to ask all of your help in trying to continue this positive momentum and continue the fight to restore the memory of the 1811 uprising and of its leaders and participants. There are a number of things you could do to help, and I would be really grateful to you for your support:
1) Share the book with your friends, especially friends with the ability to influence others: teachers, writers, and politicians
2) Tell and re-tell the story both in person and online, through blogs and websites and twitter and facebook
3) Review the book on Amazon.com or on other book websites to encourage them to read it and learn this story.
