I Hear My People Singing - by Kathryn Watterson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A vivid, groundbreaking history of the legacies of slavery in an elite Northern town as told by its Black residents

I Hear My People Singing shines a light on a small but historic Black neighborhood at the heart of one of the most elite and world-renowned Ivy-League towns--Princeton, New Jersey. The vivid first-person accounts of more than fifty Black residents detail aspects of their lives throughout the twentieth century. Their stories show that the roots of Princeton's African American community are as deeply intertwined with the town and university as they are with the history of the United States, the legacies of slavery, and the nation's current conversations on race.

Drawn from an oral history collaboration with residents of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, Princeton undergraduates, and their professor, Kathryn Watterson, neighbors speak candidly about Jim Crow segregation, the consequences of school integration, World Wars I and II, and the struggles for equal opportunities and civil rights. Despite three centuries of legal and economic obstacles, African American residents have created a flourishing, ethical, and humane neighborhood in which to raise their children, care for the sick and elderly, worship, stand their ground, and celebrate life. Abundantly filled with photographs, I Hear My People Singing personalizes the injustices faced by generations of Black Princetonians--including the famed Paul Robeson--and highlights the community's remarkable achievements. The introductions to each chapter provide historical context, as does the book's foreword by noted scholar, theologian, and activist Cornel West.

An intimate testament of the Black community's resilience and ingenuity, I Hear My People Singing adds a never-before-compiled account of poignant Black experience to an American narrative that needs to be heard now more than ever.

From the Back Cover

"I Hear My People Singing adds to the growing collection of studies and memoirs of African Americans around elite white colleges and universities. This book reflects on the progressive racial integration of Princeton over the past half century."--David Moltke-Hansen, former president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Review Quotes

"Winner of the 2018 NJSAA Author Award for Popular Non-Fiction, New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance"

About the Author

Kathryn (Kitsi) Watterson is a writer whose award-winning books include Women in Prison (Doubleday) and Not by the Sword (Simon & Schuster). She's written for magazines, literary journals, and newspapers, including the New York Times and International Herald Tribune. She teaches creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, where she lives and drums.