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Introduction

The Black Livingstone written by Pagan Kennedy is the true story about William Sheppard's adventures in the nineteenth century. William Sheppard was a missionary sent to the Belgium Congo in 1890. Sent with William was a man named Sam Lapsley. Sam and William attended different churches due to segregation laws and when sailing through the United States Sam could not be seen with William due to the new enforced Jim Crow laws. Both the missionaries became partners in the dangerous efforts to take Christianity into the largely unexplored Congo. He was very determined to complete his goal of converting the Congo even if it took his whole life. ...read more.

Middle

In Black Livingstone it discusses the escapades of William Sheppard in the Congo. This book illustrates his life. He started as an insignificant person, then through hard work and some struggle became a sought after hero. Black Livingstone by Pagan Kennedy shows all aspects of his life, from missionary work to friendship, to love. William Sheppard was astonishing in Congo; he treated Congo culture like an equal to his own, and taught the history of the world from an African point of view. William Sheppard proved to be inferior and dared to be himself. Pagan Kennedy's argument about William Sheppard suggested that he was a lost hero, an African American missionary who during the time when African Americans were being killed, proved to be virtuous and full of goals. ...read more.

Conclusion

Pagan Kennedy the author did fulfill her purpose of letting the world know about William Sheppard and his goals and purposes that he wanted to accomplish. I do like the way the book was written, every chapter told a story that William either contributed to or wrote. This was a superior book, but it was more for the adult mind and at some points hard to understand. Teenagers reading this book would get bored quickly only because chapter after chapter was made up of zillions of detailed facts of what really went on in the Congo. They say William Sheppard astonished many with his stories of the Congo, so why isn't this book told like he would tell his stories, but altogether I would say this book was very good with factual information on William Sheppard as a missionary. ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE USA 1941-80 section.