Commentary on class discussion: The Book Of Negroes' Title.

After our discussion in class, how do you feel about the title The Book of Negroes. Please comment on censorship, the book burnings, and the appropriateness of the title. Based on what you already know about the novel, what other names might be fitting?

Personally, I think that the title gives the book the personality that it acquires. The book is about negroes. It is about slavery and how negroes were treated. I do not see the problem with naming the book essentially what it is. When Lawrence Hill was composing this story, he thought about a title that would sum up/describe the book and he came up with The Book of Negroes. This is his literary choice. What ever happened to freedom of speech and expression? As he is, himself, an entire 50% negro, I do not think he would intentionally bash blacks, which is the whole controversy of why this title is 'inappropriate.' One might argue that that is not a good reason for saying that he can use the word negro but why not? I do think Hill is self-bashing himself and people like him: black. Regarding the book burning, I think it is completely disrespectful to burn someone's work. Hill worked hard on his book and put effort into composing the strong ideas and images it portrays. The people that thought that the title was inappropriate did not have to do this to get their opinion across. The irony is they get to express freedom of speech by disagreeing, but they do not let Hill do this with the title of his own book. This book does not require censorship in any way because it is a story and it is not a bashing or an inappropriate text whatsoever; it is reality and it is the truth towards what HAPPENED to blacks and how they were treated in the past. "The Book of Negroes" is not even Lawrence's own words. This book is something that already existed back then in the time that the book is based on. It was a book of names of slaves. Hill did not compose the book; he was not a part of it. He wrote about it. His book title should not be censored nor bashed and definitely not disrespected and burnt.