Today, I want to remember Julius Lester. The books that make me happy as I think of Julius Lester's work are Sam and the Tigers, a brilliant retelling of Little Black Sambo, and John Henry. I can't deny that the illustrations are a big part of my love for the books. HOWEVER, it is Lester's words that make me tear up at the end of John Henry, almost ever single time.
As a child, I loved the story of Little Black Sambo. Face it. It has everything a story needs, a likeable character, a series of impossible situations that are cleverly dealt with, and a satisfying conclusion. BUT, the original words and illustrations were/are problematic and insulting to huge groups of people.
And along came Julius Lester, like a hero on a pony, to put this story into a more relatable context. Once again, Jerry Pinkney's illustrations are wonderful. It's the story I can carry with me! I don't need the book to remember the words.
The most popular version of Uncle Remus in my library was Lester's adaptation of Joel Chandler Harris' original. Lester came out with his version, The Tales of Uncle Remus, in 1987. He followed with Further Tales of Uncle Remus, Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales, and The Last Tales of Uncle Remus, as well as picture books featuring individual Brer Rabbit stories.
Folklore, especially the folklore of Black people, was not the only thing Julius Lester wrote about. He was an academic, who taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amhurst, for over 30 years. He wrote about history, religion, culture and sociology. He penned novels that are based in the Black and/or urban and/or Southern milieus. Check out the Wikipedia article to see the impressive list of published works.
As I looked over his published works, I picked out half a dozen books I want to read, books on racism, God, Judaism, writing. He even co-wrote a book with Pete Seeger, The Folksinger's Guide to the 12-string Guitar as Played by Leadbelly!
I close with this quote from the man himself.
Thanks so much for this post Karen! I was just talking about Little Black Sambo and The Song of the South movie (where Br'er Rabbit makes an appearance) the other day! Your post makes me want to head to the library to find Sam and the Tigers and Uncle Remus. I was taken by surprise in the Wikipedia page about Uncle Remus where June Jordan, writing in the New York Times called it "Beautifully written" but criticised the stories writing "If these folk tales were not meant for children (quiet or otherwise), then the relentless chicanery of the protagonist would not matter so much, nor would the sometimes positively homicidal humor of the material." I imagine June does not realize that many Saturday morning cartoons are full of chicanery and homicidal humor (look at our generation of Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Quickdraw McGraw, etc.). Wherever a child is watching cartoons or reading a children's book, a parent is usually nearby. June does not realize the power of reaching adult minds even through children's material. I feel that any storyteller who tells these kinds of stories is sending the message to not fall for the chicanery, past and present, we are handed by certain authorities AND perhaps giving people the tools to stand up to nonsense - not necessarily with guns but with their own chicanery! In Italy I heard what people there believe is the real story of St. Francis and the Wolf...they believe the wolf was really a corrupt politician! Children as well as adults can benefit from the "tools" offered by these and other folktales.
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